The continued wars of Benjamin Netanyahu have clearly provided him with additional political breathing space and survival. They may also pave the way for postponing the elections scheduled for next October, an outcome that would align closely with his political interests, particularly as it becomes increasingly apparent that securing victory in the next election will be far more difficult than before. The political landscape inside Israel is shifting in ways that no longer work to Netanyahu’s advantage, compounded by the potentially consequential role of Palestinian voters and other political forces, which could further undermine his electoral prospects. Israel continues to wage war in Gaza and Lebanon, while the possibility of renewed confrontation with Iran remains on the table. Within Netanyahu’s political calculus, attempts by the Israeli government to reignite escalation with Iran may appear entirely rational if such a move serves his political survival and interests.

Palestinians inside Israel played a pivotal role in enabling the Bennett–Lapid coalition to unseat Netanyahu that year.

Benjamin Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history. Under his leadership, the right-wing Likud party has dominated Israeli politics since 2009. A master in politics, Netanyahu may still be able to cling to power for several additional months beyond the scheduled election date in an effort to improve his electoral standing. Legally, postponing elections in Israel is possible only under highly exceptional emergency circumstances, and would likely require special legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset, alongside a broad political consensus. This has happened only once before , during the 1973 October War , when elections were delayed for two months. Yet such a scenario is far from guaranteed today. Public pressure inside Israel could intensify in favor of forcing Netanyahu to proceed with elections on schedule and return to the ballot box in accordance with the law, a scenario that currently appears more likely.

Netanyahu was voted out of power in the 2021 elections due to corruption cases that continue to shadow his political career. Those cases remain open, and he is still appearing in court as part of the ongoing legal proceedings against him. Following his return to office at the end of 2022, Netanyahu assembled what is widely regarded as the most far-right government in Israel’s history. His coalition triggered deep internal polarization, clashing with broad segments of Israeli society over issues ranging from judicial overhaul plans to the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews. At the same time, the conduct of Israel’s wars under his government, particularly in Gaza, and the scale of civilian casualties and destruction have subjected Israel to a level of international criticism unprecedented in its modern history. Netanyahu has also faced mounting accusations of mismanaging the Gaza war and mishandling the issue of Israeli captives held there. He has further been criticized for resisting calls to establish an official investigation into the events of October 7. There are growing accusations that the expansion of military fronts and the pursuit of successive wars have, at least in part, served domestic political objectives tied to his personal survival. That is precisely why the opening of any new front in parallel with an election cycle is increasingly viewed inside Israel as a clear political maneuver rather than a purely strategic necessity.

Bennett and Lapid broadly align with Netanyahu on the wars against Hamas in Gaza, as well as on Israel’s confrontations with Lebanon and Iran, though they differ sharply over the way Netanyahu has managed those conflicts.

At the end of last month, former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced that they would merge their parties, “Yesh Atid” and “Bennett 2026”, into a new political bloc called “Together, ahead of the next Knesset elections. This is not the first political partnership between the two men. In 2021, they joined forces to form what became known as the “government of change,” ending Netanyahu’s 12-year hold on power. Palestinians inside Israel played a pivotal role in enabling the Bennett–Lapid coalition to unseat Netanyahu that year. The alliance then was supported by the inclusion of United Arab List, led by Mansour Abbas, although the party was not granted ministerial portfolios within the coalition government. The newly announced “Together” alliance represents the most significant effort so far to reorganize and consolidate the Israeli opposition ahead of what is expected to be a difficult and highly competitive electoral contest against Netanyahu.

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“Bennett 2026” is generally classified as a nationalist right-wing party established last year. Bennett himself first rose to national prominence after taking over the leadership of the Jewish Home party in 2012. He later broke away and founded the New Right in 2018, before leading the Yamina alliance the following year, which brought together several right-wing parties. By contrast, Lapid’s Yesh Atid is a centrist, secular-liberal party founded in 2012, which emerged as a major political force in the elections the following year. The ideological gap between Bennett’s and Lapid’s parties is therefore clear. It was precisely this gap that led many to describe their previous alliance as fragile, and it was widely seen as one of the reasons for its collapse after only a year and a half in power. That earlier alliance was built around a shared political objective: removing Netanyahu from the center of Israeli politics. Today, that same objective appears to be bringing them together once again.

Bennett and Lapid........

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