MK Yair Golan, chairman of the "Democrats" party, called on "Yashar!" leader Gadi Eisenkot to unite either with him or with former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and MK Yair Lapid’s "Together" party.
"To win, there must be no more splits in the bloc," Golan said in a speech at the Berl Katznelson Foundation conference. "Make a decision: Join Bennett and Lapid or the Democrats."
According to Golan, "This moment is bigger than all of us and demands a decision. At this time, in the face of our existential challenges, it is no longer possible to remain in the middle. Splitting the bloc does not bring new votes - it only disperses existing strength and weakens the camp."
Last month, a poll conducted by the Midgam Institute for Channel 12 found that if Bennett and Eisenkot ran in a joint list, they would win 35 seats, towering over the Likud, which would still receive 25. The Democrats would win 10 seats, Shas nine, Otzma Yehudit nine, Yisrael Beytenu eight, Yesh Atid seven, UTJ seven, United Arab List five, and Hadash-Ta'al five.
In such a scenario, the opposition bloc would achieve a majority, but not one that would allow it to form a government without relying on the Arab parties.