Israel's election race shifts as Edelstein exits Likud and Bennett-Lapid alliance takes shape

One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's longest-serving political allies is leaving the Likud Party ahead of Israel's upcoming Knesset elections, citing the party's continued support for draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men as incompatible with both Israel's needs and his own principles.

In an interview broadcast Saturday evening on Channel 12's popular "Meet the Press" program, veteran Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein announced that he will not participate in the party's upcoming primaries and instead plans to embark on "a new political path."

His departure underscores growing tensions within Israel's right-wing camp over military conscription and sets the stage for what is expected to be a highly competitive election campaign.

"If you succeed in the primaries, you then have to stand on the stage and say, 'Vote Likud, we will…,' and I don't know how to finish that sentence," Edelstein said. "What will we do? Continue to allow freeloading?"

"There are members who, right now, are surprised to hear what I'm saying," Edelstein continued. "They'll say: 'Yuli, what are you doing? We've supported him for decades, we would have supported him this time around, too — why is he doing this?'"

After apologizing to those who had voted Likud in previous elections because of him, Edelstein concluded that "There is no other way. We need to make a change in this country… the State of Israel has always come before my party."

In the same interview, he said he would embark on "a new political path," adding that he plans to establish his own political faction to challenge Likud in the upcoming elections.

"There is a fairly large public that is hungry for this message," he added. "The public has shifted right – you see it in all the polls."

Edelstein also said he believes most right-wing voters support a more "responsible" approach to advancing issues such as judicial reform, the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men, the country's ongoing security needs and the economy.

He added that he hopes to build a "broad Zionist government" that is "not dependent on non-Zionist factions," an apparent reference to Arab parties and the ultra-Orthodox parties.

The Channel 12 program also featured Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who criticized Netanyahu's handling of the conflict with Iran.

"If you want to topple the Iranian government, you need to take out the Iranian economy, and afterward the next [Iranian] government would need to build it again from scratch over years."

Lapid also discussed his decision to take the number 2 spot on the electoral list of the "Together" party he has formed with former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is more right-of-center than Lapid.

He said the arrangement best serves the country's interests at this stage, adding that "Naftali Bennett is the right person at the right time."

"I'm not saying he's better or more fitting than Gadi Eisenkot; I'm saying he's better and more fitting than me at this moment. We need, right now, a leader from the right. I need someone who was prime minister, who was defense minister, who was education minister, who was economy minister, who established a government, who dismantled a government, who lost, not just who won, and he is a person of the right… I put myself, my party, and my trust behind him."