Netanyahu’s 5 rivals pledge joint action ahead of key election

TEL AVIV

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Five Israeli opposition leaders challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have signed a document pledging to coordinate their efforts both ahead of next month’s election and in its aftermath, as the country heads toward a critical vote.

Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, announced on X that opposition leaders had gathered at his home after his party decided to run in the election alongside former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett under the “Together” slate.

Lapid shared a photo from his meeting with Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, Bennett, who is running under the Together slate, Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats.

He also posted an image of the document signed by the party leaders, pledging to work together toward a change of government.

“Even though there are ideological differences between us, we recognize that replacing the government is our common overriding goal, and we have a duty to work together to achieve it,” Lapid said.

Under the agreement, the parties will refrain from criticizing one another’s policies until the election.

Each party will seek to increase its own vote share in an effort to secure enough seats in the Knesset for the bloc to form a government capable of “preserving Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”

The parties also agreed to begin working immediately after the election toward the formation of a joint government.

The document calls for the establishment of three working groups tasked with increasing the parties’ vote shares, outlining the main principles of the government to be formed after the election, and countering smear campaigns.

The leaders, however, did not agree on a candidate for prime minister.

In his first response to the agreement, Netanyahu claimed that the leaders would seek to form a government with and Arab parties.

Recent opinion polls in Israel indicate that the opposition bloc could win between 54 and 56 Knesset seats, while the governing bloc led by Netanyahu could secure between 50 and 52 seats.

Under Israel’s electoral system, a government requires the support of at least 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset to be formed. Current polling suggests that neither bloc would secure enough seats on its own to reach the threshold required to form a governing coalition.

Netanyahu has also faced criticism within Israel over reports that countries in the region had warned his government in the weeks before Hamas’ October 2023 attack, but that those warnings were disregarded.