Israel's Opposition Leaders Join Hands Against Netanyahu, But Where Do They Differ?

Five leading figures from Israel’s main opposition parties signed a non-aggression pact on 26 September in a bid to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu at the 27 October election.

The meeting took place at the Tel Aviv home of opposition leader Yair Lapid and brought together former prime minister Naftali Bennett of Beyachad, former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot of the new Yashar party, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu. According to Al Jazeera, the five issued a statement of principles after several hours of talks that declared: “Despite ideological differences among us, the formation of a Zionist, statesmanlike government dedicated to repair and reconstruction is our shared overarching goal.”

How long the arrangement will hold, how far it differs in policy from the current government, and which of the five might emerge as prime minister all remain unresolved. Lieberman has already accused Eisenkot of seeking a separate understanding with Netanyahu. Al Jazeera reported that, apart from Golan, the group broadly shares a right-wing approach to security and the conflict with the Palestinians. None is committed to a Palestinian state; only the Democrats treat it as a distant possibility. None, including Golan, accepts that Israel’s war on Gaza constitutes genocide or that it has committed war crimes. More than 74,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza by September 27, 2026, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“The dominant forces in the opposition such as Bennett, Lieberman or Eisenkot represent right-wing politics,” said Ahron Bregman, an Israeli analyst and senior teaching fellow at King’s College London. “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.” He likened them to Netanyahu, but without the corruption allegations or the support of far-right figures such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. “Israel as a whole is a right-wing nation,” he added.

Gadi Eisenkot and Yashar

Eisenkot, 66, is credited with formulating the Dahiyeh Doctrine in 2008, which advocates disproportionate force and the large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure in conflicts with groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. He served as chief of staff from 2015 to 2019, entered politics in 2022 with Benny Gantz’s National Unity alliance, and joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the 7 October 2023 attacks. His son Gal, 25, and one nephew were killed in Gaza in December 2023, while another nephew was killed in November 2024.

He left the war cabinet with Gantz in June 2024, accusing Netanyahu of lacking a plan to end the fighting. A year later he formed Yashar, which calls for professional government, military service for all citizens including ultra-Orthodox Jews, and a state commission of inquiry into the failures of 7 October. He has criticised the government's reliance on the United States in pursuing its war aims, without challenging those aims themselves. In June 2026, he described US-mediated talks with Iran as “a deal taking shape far from here and far from Israeli interests” and objected to American limits on Israeli action in Lebanon. He has ruled out any coalition role for the United Arab List (Ra’am), saying in a 26 September Channel 12 interview that no Arab party would accept his conditions, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Beyachad

Beyachad was announced in April 2026 as a joint list headed by Bennett, 54, with Lapid, 62, in second place. The two men previously shared power for 18 months in 2021-22. Lapid has described Bennett as “a right-wing politician, but an honest one.” Neither has made resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a priority or endorsed a Palestinian state. Their earlier coalition included Ra’am, a step Bennett has said broke an electoral promise.

Lapid has frequently criticised the international perception of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the wider region while rarely questioning the underlying rationale. Bennett has been more openly hawkish, strongly supporting the war with Iran and congratulating the security services for the September 2025 strike in Doha that targeted senior Hamas figures. A Qatari security official was killed in that attack. Both men now insist on a government drawn solely from Zionist parties and reject reliance on Arab lists.

Avigdor Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu

Lieberman, 68, founded Yisrael Beiteinu in 1999 to represent right-leaning Russian-speaking immigrants. Once a Netanyahu ally, he now rules out serving under him or joining any coalition that includes ultra-Orthodox parties or relies on Arab parties, which he describes as anti-Zionist. He has also rejected a minority government, reportedly making him a significant obstacle to Eisenkot becoming the bloc’s prime ministerial candidate.

In November 2023 he restated his 2018 claim, made while defence minister, that there were “no innocents in Gaza.” In February 2026, he visited the Karem Abu Salem crossing and accused the government of funding Hamas through the limited aid allowed into the territory. He has backed the Gaza campaign and later military operations. In September 2025 he criticised Netanyahu for apologising to Qatar over the Doha strike, arguing the apology was owed to the Israeli public instead. On Lebanon, he told the Jerusalem Post in March 2026: “If once again we go for a limited operation, some manoeuvre near the border, maybe talk about a security zone, it’s complete madness.”

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, an analyst with Atlas Global Strategies, said: “Lieberman does not belong in this bloc,” arguing that personal hostility to Netanyahu is his main driver. He nevertheless retains a loyal base among former Soviet voters and has built wider credibility through a reputation for independence. Observers note he could still return to Netanyahu’s camp.

Yair Golan and the Democrats

Golan, 64, is the only figure from the Zionist left among the five and the only one open to cooperation with Palestinian parties. A retired major-general and former deputy chief of staff, he received public credit for driving south on 7 October 2023 and helping to repel the attack. The Democrats were formed in 2024 by the merger of Labor and Meretz.

He has criticised the government’s war aims more sharply than the others, arguing that military gains are being wasted without a diplomatic and political strategy. In May 2025 he said a “sane country does not kill babies as a hobby,” accusing ministers of celebrating the starvation of Palestinian children; he later moderated the remarks after domestic backlash. In October 2026, Golan said the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli war in February 2026 had been a “mistake”. “Not because he didn’t deserve to die,” he added, “only because it doesn’t serve the interests of the State of Israel.” He also praised Israel’s achievements during the 12-day war against Iran in 2025.

Despite his openness to Palestinian parties, Golan supported the disqualification of Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh in September over an article about 7 October, drawing criticism from the Joint List and some commentators. Roi Zur, a specialist in Israeli politics at the University of Essex, said that despite differences between Golan and Lieberman on security questions, “there will be no winning coalition without these two.” Both oppose Netanyahu, favour secularisation and reject military-service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.