以色列选举竞赛在4月26日拉开序幕，前总理纳夫塔利·本内特与亚伊尔·拉皮德宣布在本内特领导下合并政党，并将新联盟命名为“联合”，目标是10月大选。此次重组是为了取代总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡——他是以色列任期最长的总理之一。

内塔尼亚胡过去三年半的执政联盟以强硬右翼和极端宗教党为支柱，被形容为把国家拖入高成本、未形成明确胜负的冲突，也引发宪政动荡，并伴随腐败争议；其中包括对内塔尼亚胡本人贿赂与欺诈指控（他予以否认）。民调显示，他的联盟尚未达到再度形成多数执政的票数门槛。

尽管反对派在选前有“必胜”预期，真正的结构性优势却在于内塔尼亚胡阵营的整合程度，反对派却出现分裂。反对阵营内部至少有“半打”（约6人）潜在总理人选，且意识形态和选民基础差异显著，导致其后续组阁难度上升；另外，本内特据称排除将阿拉伯力量纳入联盟，进一步限制其联合范围。

The election campaign began on April 26, when former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced a party merger under Bennett’s leadership, branding it “Together” ahead of an election expected in October. The move is a direct attempt to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader.

Netanyahu’s coalition has governed for the past three and a half years with hard-right and ultra-religious partners, and it has been described as driving costly, inconclusive wars, constitutional instability, and persistent corruption allegations, including bribery and fraud charges against Netanyahu himself, which he denies. Polls indicate the coalition still lacks the vote majority needed to govern again.

Netanyahu’s key advantage is unity among pro-incumbent parties, while the opposition is fragmented and reportedly split among roughly half a dozen would-be prime ministers with divergent ideologies and constituencies, making coalition-building difficult. The newly branded bloc’s unity appears constrained, especially after reports that Bennett ruled out including Arab parties.

Source: And they're off

Subtitle: JERUSALEM A political merger kicks off the election season

Dateline: The Economist May 2nd 2026