Lapid to Host Opposition Leaders Meeting, Benny Gantz Excluded

Opposition leader Yair Lapid will host a meeting of "Change Bloc" leaders at his home in Tel Aviv this coming Saturday night, his Yesh Atid party announced Tuesday. The gathering is expected to include Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan, and will focus on coordinating the bloc's actions ahead of the upcoming elections.

The meeting comes amid recent polls showing a tight race between the Likud party and Eisenkot's "Yisrael Beiteinu" party. Notably, Benny Gantz, a former "Change Bloc" partner who now leads the "National Unity" party after leaving the government, was not invited. Gantz is currently outside the unified center-left bloc.

The political climate is sensitive as the system prepares for elections. In recent days, other center-left parties have held discussions, including a joint meeting between Lieberman and Bennett to discuss joint actions.

Meanwhile, Joint List chairman Ahmed Tibi recently revealed a joint plan by Arab parties to help replace the Netanyahu government. Tibi stated that Arab parties would work with Eisenkot's bloc immediately after the elections to replace the Knesset speaker and recommend the bloc's candidate for forming the government. The Likud party responded swiftly, calling Tibi's remarks a "media bomb" and accusing Tibi of revealing Eisenkot, Lieberman, and Golan's plan to form a left-wing government with Arab parties.

The Saturday night meeting is expected to address how the "Change Bloc" parties can coordinate their efforts to achieve the necessary number of mandates to form an alternative government.