Yashar! party leader Gadi Eisenkot and Yisrael Beytenu chairperson MK Avigdor Liberman announced on Thursday they agreed to deepen coordination between their parties ahead of the upcoming elections, amid mounting reports that the two are considering a merger.
The two held a “lengthy meeting” on Wednesday in which they agreed to continue and deepen the dialogue between them, Yashar! and Yisrael Beytenu released in a joint statement.
They both instructed their teams to deepen cooperation between the parties in order to “secure victory for the coalition of those who serve to and establish a Zionist, statesmanlike government,” the parties said.
A merger between the two parties would mark a significant development for the opposition bloc, reshaping dynamics.
Liberman had addressed such reports of a merger during a Wednesday press conference, where he said, “Whatever helps to get the most mandates, we will do.”
“Any move that adds value must be made,” he said. “Anything that doesn’t contribute to strengthening the bloc is, in my view, a waste.”
Eisenkot also said in a separate Tuesday press conference that he was considering all options to gain the most votes in the opposition bloc.
Eisenkot added that he and Liberman were in close contact and had strong relations.
Yashar! emerging as a leading party
Yashar! has emerged as a leading party in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the elections.
Eisenkot has said that the loss of his son in the Israel-Hamas war has pushed him to take action to improve the country, and in September 2025, he launched Yashar!.
Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu is also a core party in the opposition bloc and has vowed not to form a government with Netanyahu. The party holds a hawkish security stance and advocates for expanding Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. It also calls for universal conscription and drafting the haredi population. The party also strongly advocates for a separation of religion and state.
Both Eisenkot and Liberman push in their campaigns for universal conscription that would enforce the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population to draft.
They also both call for a state commission of inquiry to be conducted into government failures on October 7.
Eisenkot has been invited by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid to join their newly merged party, named Together.
The Yashar! leader has not accepted the offer to join Bennett and Lapid and instead has said that the focus should be on gaining as many votes as possible within the opposition bloc to unseat Netanyahu in the election.
In the past, Eisenkot has said that he does not want to serve as Bennett’s second-in-command and believes in his capabilities to lead the country.
Liberman said on Wednesday that one of his goals is to become prime minister.
General elections are scheduled to take place no later than October.
