Netanyahu weakened as opposition leaders join forces

Political mergers before elections are common in Israel, but the alliance between Bennett and Lapid still came as a surprise. The two leaders, who jointly headed the coalition that briefly removed Netanyahu from office in 2021, announced a new political partnership under the banner “Together”. Bennett, positioning himself clearly on the right, will lead the alliance, while Lapid framed the move as a necessary act of political consolidation.

“We are standing here together for the sake of our children. The state of Israel must change direction,” Lapid declared at the joint press conference. Bennett described himself as a “right-wing liberal Zionist” and said Israel needed to “open a new chapter” after Netanyahu.

The alliance reflects a growing belief across large parts of the Israeli opposition that defeating Netanyahu requires ideological flexibility and broad cooperation. Bennett and Lapid do not agree on many issues, particularly around religion, security and the Palestinian question, but both appear to believe that voters are exhausted by years of political paralysis and internal division.

Some commentators compared the move to broad anti-incumbent coalitions seen elsewhere, including the opposition alliance that defeated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The comparison is imperfect, but politically revealing: the Israeli opposition increasingly sees Netanyahu not merely as a rival politician, but as a dominant political system that can only be challenged through consolidation.

Still, the merger does not automatically produce a governing majority. Initial polling published after the announcement suggested the Bennett-Lapid alliance could emerge as the largest single faction in the Knesset with around 26 seats, slightly ahead of Likud. But the broader anti-Netanyahu bloc still struggles to cross the critical 61-seat threshold needed to form a government without support from Arab parties. Bennett has already ruled out reliance on non-Zionist Arab factions, potentially limiting his coalition options.

That tension highlights the central dilemma facing the Israeli opposition. Netanyahu may be weaker than before, but the fragmented structure of Israeli politics still gives him significant advantages.

Netanyahu’s announcement that he had quietly undergone treatment for prostate cancer added another layer of uncertainty to an already volatile political moment.

According to an official medical report, the 76-year-old prime minister underwent treatment for an early-stage malignant prostate tumour over recent months, including radiation therapy. The condition was not publicly disclosed at the time. Netanyahu later explained that he delayed publication of the information because he did not want it "used by Iran for propaganda during wartime".

The disclosure immediately generated intense speculation within Israel, not necessarily because of the diagnosis itself, but because of the secrecy surrounding it.

Netanyahu has long cultivated an image of political endurance and personal resilience. Over the years, he has presented himself as uniquely capable of navigating Israel through war, international pressure and regional instability. Questions about his health therefore carry political significance far beyond the medical details.

The announcement also revived scrutiny over previous health incidents, including the pacemaker procedure Netanyahu underwent in 2023 after what doctors described as a “transient heart block”.

More importantly, the timing reinforced the broader atmosphere of vulnerability surrounding the prime minister. Netanyahu now faces simultaneous pressure from multiple directions: a difficult security environment, international criticism, domestic dissatisfaction, ongoing corruption proceedings and, increasingly, questions about succession within the Israeli right.

Perhaps the most politically significant development came from President Isaac Herzog. For months, speculation has surrounded the possibility that Herzog could eventually grant Netanyahu a pardon as part of a plea bargain in his corruption trial. Under Israeli law, the president has the authority to issue pardons, although there is no precedent for doing so during an ongoing trial.

This week, Herzog made clear that any pardon remains distant.

In a carefully worded statement, Herzog said efforts toward a negotiated agreement between Netanyahu and prosecutors must first be exhausted before any consideration of clemency. His office also confirmed discussions involving Netanyahu’s representatives and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara regarding possible understandings or mediation.

The statement may sound procedural, but politically it carried major implications.

Until recently, Herzog was often criticised by Netanyahu’s opponents for appearing overly cautious and unwilling to confront the prime minister directly. His latest comments were interpreted by Israeli commentators as a subtle but unmistakable sign of distance.

The core obstacle remains unresolved: Netanyahu continues to refuse both an admission of guilt and any commitment to step down from public office, two conditions widely viewed as essential to any plea arrangement.

At the same time, the international dimension matters. Trump had previously urged Herzog to pardon Netanyahu during the Iran conflict, but reports that Trump distanced himself from recent Israeli ceremonial events, including skipping the Israel Prize ceremony and not sending a recorded message, fed perceptions that Netanyahu can no longer rely as confidently on his most important international ally.

None of this means Netanyahu is finished politically. Israeli politics has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to recover from crises that once appeared fatal. But for the first time in years, the dominant political story in Israel is no longer Netanyahu’s strength. It is the growing possibility that the political system is beginning to prepare for life after him.