Five prominent Israeli opposition figures have signed a non-aggression agreement in Tel Aviv as they prepare to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the October 27 election. The gathering brought together former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Democrats party leader Yair Golan, and Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Liberman.
Following the meeting at Lapid’s residence, the politicians released a joint statement outlining their objective. “Despite ideological differences among us, the formation of a Zionist, statesmanlike government dedicated to repair and reconstruction is our shared overarching goal,” the leaders said.
Despite their unity against Netanyahu, the bloc remains predominantly right-wing, with Golan being the only exception. None of the five politicians supports the creation of a Palestinian state, with the Democrats party treating it solely as an unspecified and distant ambition. Additionally, all have rejected accusations of war crimes regarding Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 people, while maintaining broad support for military operations across Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Qatar, and Iran.
Analyst Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow at King’s College London, noted that key figures like Bennett, Liberman, and Eisenkot reflect the country's broader conservative landscape. “They are not willing to touch the real, fundamental issue which is at the heart of everything: the Palestinian issue, and the Palestinian aspirations for independence,” Bregman said.
Eisenkot, who originated the 2008 Dahiyeh Doctrine and led the military from 2015 to 2019, formed his centrist Yashar party after leaving Netanyahu's war cabinet in June 2024. He advocates mandatory military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews and a formal inquiry into the pre-October 7 failures, while ruling out any coalition partnership with Arab parties such as Ra'am.
Bennett and Lapid lead their joint ticket, Beyachad, also excluding Arab factions from their proposed government. Meanwhile, Liberman remains among the most hardline figures, having previously stated that there were “no innocents in Gaza” and consistently opposing limits on military operations in Lebanon.
