Five rivals pledge not to fight each other as Israel heads to the polls on October 27
The story
On September 26, five Israeli opposition leaders met at Yair Lapid's home in Tel Aviv and signed a pact not to turn on each other ahead of the October 27 election. With them were former prime minister Naftali Bennett, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Democrats leader Yair Golan, and Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu. Their shared goal, they said, is a Zionist government focused on repair after years of war and political deadlock.
Who would lead such a coalition is still unsettled. Analysts note that most of the group sits on the right. None of them has committed to creating a Palestinian state. Only Golan's Democrats treat that idea as a distant possibility. Across the bloc, criticism of Netanyahu often centers on strategy, corruption claims, and his reliance on far right partners rather than on the aims of the wars themselves.
Eisenkot's new Yashar party pushes professional government, military service for all including ultra Orthodox Jews, and an inquiry into the failures before October 7, 2023. Bennett and Lapid's joint Beyachad list wants a coalition made only of Zionist parties. Lieberman rules out serving under Netanyahu or leaning on Arab parties. Golan is the lone voice from the Zionist left and the only one open to working with Palestinian parties, though he has still backed moves that angered Arab lists. Polls and analysts say the bloc needs both Golan and Lieberman to have a real shot at power.
