Two former Israeli prime ministers join forces against Netanyahu in upcoming elections

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Israeli heavyweights said Sunday they will join forces in elections scheduled for later this year in a bid to wrest his long-held seat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Naftali Bennett And Yair Lapid served as prime minister under the rotation agreement. coalition government They were established in 2021 and ended Netanyahu’s 12-year rule. They now plan to merge their party into a single faction under Bennett’s leadership, calling it a partnership between the center and the right.

Bennett said that if elected, he would establish a state commission of inquiry on the issue on the first day of the new government. 7 October 2023 under Hamas leadership The attack on southern Israel that started the war is an issue that haunts Netanyahu.

There are calls in Israel for a public inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7 attack, the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

Lapid called on Israel’s political center to unite behind Bennett, adding that “this country needs unity like air to breathe.”

Bennett served as prime minister during the first year of the 2021 agreement until the coalition collapsed. Lapid then held the top job as interim prime minister for the last six months until elections returned Netanyahu to power.

Lapid has since served as Israel’s opposition leader, while Bennett has taken a break from politics.

The two men have ideological differences. Bennett is an Orthodox Jew with strict views against Palestinians, while Lapid is seen as secular and more moderate. But they enjoyed a close working relationship during their short-lived coalition.

“We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve made difficult decisions together. We know we can trust each other,” Lapid said.

Their alliance aims to unite a fragmented opposition that appears to have little in common beyond their shared hostility to Netanyahu.