On October 27, Israelis will head to the polls to vote in what is arguably the most important election in the country’s history.
In our series of explainers, we lay out the runners and riders vying to lead the country, the parties in contention and how Israel’s election process works.
Here’s what you need to know about the recently founded Beyachad alliance.
Core position and current power
Beyachad is a new electoral alliance – effectively a merger of two political camps led by two former prime ministers, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.
They have governed together in the past but still represent distinct party traditions and voter bases.
Their alliance – Hebrew for “together” – was launched in April 2026, uniting Lapid’s established centre‑left party, Yesh Atid, with Bennett 2026, the political vehicle Bennett registered in 2025 as the first formal party under his leadership.
In June 2021, they formed the coalition that ousted Benjamin Netanyahu from power. Bennett served as prime minister for a year, and Lapid for six months, before the government collapsed.
It marks a return to politics for Bennett, who quit as an MK in November 2022, but who is regarded as the senior partner with stronger voter appeal than Lapid.
Lapid brings 24 seats to the table from the last Knesset, but Bennett is the party’s sole choice as prime minister, with no plans to rotate power.
The party’s central political message is that Israel needs a change of government and a more competent, nationally focused form of leadership after years of political instability under Netanyahu.
Beyachad presents itself as a broad Zionist alternative: more hawkish on national security than the traditional centre‑left, but more secular and institutionally reformist than Netanyahu’s coalition.
Bennett and Lapid appeal to different constituencies. Support for Bennett is likely to come from religiously observant, national‑religious and economically liberal voters who are uncomfortable with Netanyahu’s leadership.
Lapid brings support from secular, urban and liberal Israelis, particularly voters who prioritise civil equality, democratic institutions and reducing the political influence of the Haredi parties.
Chances of forming the next government?
Beyachad is a principal contender, but winning the largest number of seats is only a starting point. It could partner with Yashar, Yisrael Beiteinu or The Democrats to reach the magic 61‑seat majority.
Beyachad sits between the traditional centre and the moderate right: to the right of The Democrats on security and territorial issues, but more secular and institutionally reformist than Likud’s Haredi‑dependent coalition, and less hard‑line than Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit.
Its strongest selling point is the combination of security credibility and democratic reform; its greatest weakness is the lack of a fully developed platform on Gaza, the Palestinians, the economy and coalition strategy, leaving voters to see it mainly as an anti‑Netanyahu vehicle rather than a complete governing alternative.
The last Bennett‑Lapid government brought together eight parties, including an Arab party for the first time in Israel’s history. The current alliance presents itself as Zionist‑only, and firmly in favour of the Haredi draft.
Beyachad was created specifically for the 2026 election as a merger between two former prime ministers who have shared power before, but do not necessarily share a single vision.
Who leads the party?
Beyachad is led by Naftali Bennett, aged 54, a multi‑millionaire who co‑founded and sold the cybersecurity company Cyota (it went for $145 million in 2005).
He served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022 in a short‑lived national‑unity government.
He occupies territory between Likud and the centre‑left – more economically and diplomatically pragmatic than Israel’s far‑right parties, but not a traditional peace‑process politician.
On security issues, he takes a distinctly right‑wing and hawkish position, arguing that Israel must maintain military superiority and confront Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah and other threats.
Yair Lapid, aged 62, was one of Israel’s best‑known TV presenters and interviewers before he left broadcasting to establish Yesh Atid (the secular‑centrist to centre‑left party) in 2012.
He is number two in Beyachad, a socially liberal and secular counterpart to Bennett’s more right‑leaning stance. The sharpest difference between them is a Palestinian state. Bennett says no; Lapid says maybe.
Bennett is a fluent English speaker (American parents; he spent time in Montreal and New Jersey). Lapid spent some of his childhood in London and has a good grasp of the language.
Core positions on key voter issues
- National security
Beyachad has yet to publish a comprehensive foreign‑policy platform (manifestos are optional in Israel), but in the past Bennett and Lapid have both said clearly that they support a strong Israeli military response to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Quite where the party stands on a Palestinian state and the future administration of Gaza remains unclear.
- Charedi military conscription
Beyachad is very clear on this: Haredim must serve. More than that, it says those who evade the draft should not receive state benefits or subsidies. This sets it apart from Likud, which has opposed the Haredi draft to keep its coalition alive, and its position effectively rules out any possible deal with the Haredi parties.
- Democratic institutions
Bennett has promised to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding 7 October. The alliance has also supported limits on the prime minister’s term of office and the creation of an Israeli constitution.
Beyachad accepts that Israel’s constitutional arrangements need clearer rules and that the Supreme Court’s powers should be better defined, but does not go as far as the Netanyahu coalition in seeking to curb the Court’s ability to scrutinise legislation.
- Religion and state
Beyachad brings together Bennett’s religious‑nationalist background and Lapid’s secular liberalism.
Bennett identifies as an observant Jew and wears a kippa. He supports cities that choose to operate public transport on Shabbat, wants to reform kashrut supervision and backs civil marriage. He has opposed same‑sex marriage in the past but appears to have shifted his position of late.
Lapid believes religious observance should be a personal choice and he supports greater reform than Bennett.
- Cost of living and the economy
Bennett has, in the past, supported an economically liberal, pro‑business outlook. Lapid has emphasised the pressures facing Israel’s middle class. Beyachad has yet to set out a clear economic policy.
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