Figures in Yesh Atid are calling for a strategic merger of political forces under MK Gadi Eisenkot, warning that failing to act could erode the wider bloc’s support. The push comes after a report on Channel 13 that Naftali Bennett recently examined whether to dissolve his political partnership with Yair Lapid. Some in Bennett’s camp do not rule out eventually operating under Eisenkot’s leadership.
In recent days, Bennett, chairman of “Beyachad,” has been considering ending the alliance with Lapid and running separately again. The move is being weighed amid falling poll numbers and internal disagreements inside the partnership. Last week, Channel 13 reported that senior figures in Bennett’s team spoke harshly about Lapid and even called him a “terror attack.”
At this stage, it is unclear whether the partnership will break up. People around Bennett have argued that Lapid drove away right-wing voters who supported Bennett, while strategist Lior Chorev, who was recently brought in, has struggled to pull the party out of its crisis. Party sources said there have been major clashes among the campaign leaders, a situation that may force Bennett to make decisions soon.
The discussion comes a little more than a month after the two held the new party’s first convention. There, Bennett attacked the government sharply, saying, “The coalition of draft dodgers is collapsing,” and accusing the government of weakening the IDF and failing to wake up after October 7. He said Israel needed a new beginning and predicted a historic political upheaval, adding that many Likud voters were moving toward his camp because the party had become “an empty shell.” Bennett also said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “in hysteria” because of the hope his movement had created.
