A Jerusalem Post poll puts the revived Bennett-Lapid 'Together' alliance one seat behind Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud — and four seats worse off than if the two ran separately. The pair relaunched the list in Herzliya, narrowing their path to a governing majority in Israel’s fractured Knesset.

Alliance relaunch and early numbers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid stood at matching podiums in Herzliya to announce they were resuming the partnership that ousted Benjamin Netanyahu five years ago. Bennett unveiled the 'Together' banner and said he would lead the new list into what he called a new era for the country. The immediate public reaction was measured. A poll published by the Jerusalem Post projected the combined list would win four fewer seats than the two parties would have taken separately and sit one seat below Likud. That shortfall narrows the alliance’s margin for building a majority in Israel’s fractured multi-party system. Why they joined forces again - Consolidate votes across the centre and right. - Present a workable alternative to Netanyahu by combining their prior constituencies. - Point to their 2021 record: the partnership previously assembled a broad coalition spanning right, centre and left parties, and for the first time included a party representing Palestinian citizens of Israel. How the last coalition fell apart - Infighting and defections eroded the coalition majority. - Disagreements over security policy and approaches to the occupied West Bank widened internal divisions. Those fractures are central to critics’ caution today: the 'Together' party revives a model capable of assembling many partners but also one that proved fragile when policy or personalities clashed. Positions on Palestinians and Gaza Observers note that despite the leaders’ political diversity, their stances on Palestinians show overlap. Both Bennett and Lapid have backed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza while sometimes disagreeing over tactics. Lapid has at times framed a two-state outcome as a policy goal rather than a concrete plan; Bennett has explicitly rejected a Palestinian state. Given those positions, analysts say a relaunch is unlikely to produce a markedly different direction on Gaza and the West Bank. Political math and coalition building The poll numbers underline Israel’s arithmetic problem: winning the largest single party doesn't guarantee a governing majority. A one-seat deficit against Likud means the Bennett-Lapid list would face a narrow path to assembling a majority and be forced to court smaller parties in the fragmented Knesset.

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Bennett said: "Tonight, we're uniting and establishing the 'Together' party under my leadership, a party that will lead to a great victory, and the opening of a new era for our beloved country."

This article was created with AI assistance.