#ISRAEL: Left-Leaning Parties Join Forces To Run Against Netanyahu In April; Called A "Political Bombshell"

[world politics news]

Gabi Ashkenazi, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz and Moshe Ya'alon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's two biggest rivals on the center-left have joined forces and merged their parties, causing a political shakeup ahead of the Israeli ballot slated for April 9.

Hosen L'Yisrael chairman Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid have agreed to run on a joint ticket that will be called "Blue and White." The two would share the duties of Prime Minister, with Gantz serving for two and a half years, followed by Lapid. Some polls have been predicting that a joint Gantz-Lapid ticket could overtake Netanyahu's Likud Party, but Likud could then form a coalition with smaller, right-leaning parties to form a government, say experts.

Netanyahu's party lashed out at the union, saying, "The choice is clear: It's either a left-wing government headed by Lapid and Gantz and supported by a bloc of Arab parties, or a right-wing government headed by Netanyahu."

[FULL STORY HERE]

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