Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, two former prime ministers of Israel, announced the merging of their parties, creating a new political entity that could outpoll that of incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in the upcoming parliamentary election, Bloomberg reports.

The party, named Together, will be led by Bennett, a hawk and one-time settler advocate who has edged closer to the center, especially on domestic issues. Although he left politics after losing to Netanyahu in 2022, he is the strongest challenger to the prime minister, according to weekly voter surveys.

Lapid is a centrist figure whose main constituency is in Tel Aviv. He now leads the opposition with his Yesh Atid party. Bennett and Lapid previously formed a government together, which managed to oust Netanyahu from power, but that alliance lasted only a year and lost its place to him again in 2022.

At that time Netanyahu formed the most extreme right-wing and pro-religious government in the Israel's history, Bloomberg adds. He pursued populist policies that opponents described as divisive and anti-democratic.

A joint statement by Bennett and Lapid said that this is the first step in the healing of the state of Israel. The Yesh Atid and Bennett 2026 forces are merging into a single party, which will be headed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

The move also unites the reform alliance, putting an end to the internal struggle. This will enable all efforts to be focused on winning a decisive victory in the upcoming elections and leading Israel towards the necessary reforms, the statement also said.

Previously, they had agreed to take turns holding the post of prime minister, but the new agreement does not provide for such a thing.

Polls conducted over the past weekend showed that Bennett and Netanyahu have almost equal ratings. But if Bennett’s points are added to Lapid’s projected mandates, their party will become the largest in parliament, which will give them the right to form the next Israeli government.

According to polls, the opposition bloc—excluding Arab parties—could receive 60 or 61 seats out of 120, which is quite enough to form a ruling coalition.