Yair Lapid in advanced talks to join forces with Tzipi Livni

Israeli politicians Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni are holding “serious talks” on their parties – Yesh Atid and Hatnuah respectively – running a joint ticket in the upcoming election, reported Haaretz.

Lapid and Livni have reportedly met several times over the past few days, ever since Labor Party chair Avi Gabbay decided to end his party’s alliance with Hatnuah (the Zionist Camp).

According to Haaretz, Yesh Atid officials said the meeting was “excellent, and many more will come”.

Hatnuah commented: “Without relating to this or that meeting, it’s no secret that Livni is in favour of connections between parties and forming one large bloc to create a turnover”.

READ: Do Israeli centrist parties actually stand for anything?

Reports indicate that Livni is “prepared to join with Yesh Atid and is not demanding the number one slot on a unified Knesset roster, which Lapid does want”. Lapid, meanwhile, “sees unifying with Livni as the opportunity to win the rest of the seats from the Labor Party”.

Benny Gantz’s Hosen L’Yisrael, meanwhile, “is said to be very pleased with its political situation at this point”, with the former army chief’s popularity only increasing.

Haaretz reports that the party “is reportedly considering running jointly with another new party, Telem, founded by former Likud Defense Minister and Israeli army chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon, or Orli Levy-Abekasis’s party, Gesher, and does not want to join Livni”.