Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-05-11 at 18:01

HEADLINES
Lapid foresees new mergers before elections
Together party bridges blocks and signals unity
Lapid refuses to unite with Ben-Gvir

The time is now 6:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In Israeli Domestic Politics, Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday that he expects additional political mergers in the near future ahead of the upcoming elections, describing his newly formed Together party, led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, as a necessary partnership to promote national unity. Lapid made the remarks at the Guidelines for Jewish-Democratic Policy conference, held at the Judaism and State Policy Center of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. It was also attended by Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman. "I believe there will be more mergers. It was important for me to make the first move, so the country remembers that the organizing principle is that people who disagree with one another know how to work together for a goal greater than themselves," Lapid explained. Lapid added: "In a democracy, you can unite only around disagreements." Bennett has long been considered a right-wing figure, while Lapid has placed his Yesh Atid Party as centrist on the political spectrum. He spoke on the importance of uniting the blocs. Lapid said that he cannot unite with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) because "the disagreement is too deep."

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SOURCES
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-895832