JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Israeli political heavyweights on Sunday said they would join forces in elections scheduled for later this year in an effort to unseat longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid served as prime ministers in a rotation agreement as part of a coalition government they formed in 2021, ending 12 years of Netanyahu's rule. Now they plan to merge their parties into single faction headed by Bennett, calling it a partnership between the center and the right.
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Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid arrive to a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid hold a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid hold a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israel's then caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, talks with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/Pool Photo via AP)
Bennett said if elected, the new government on its first day would establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that started the war, an issue that has dogged Netanyahu.
There have been calls in Israel for a public inquiry into the failures around the Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest on Israel in its history.
Lapid urged Israel's political center to unite behind Bennett, adding that “this country needs unity like air to breathe."
Bennett had served as prime minister for the first year of their 2021 agreement until the coalition fractured. Lapid then held the top job as caretaker prime minister for the final six months until elections brought Netanyahu back to power.
Lapid has served as Israel's opposition leader since that time, while Bennett took a break from politics.
The two men have ideological differences. Bennett is an Orthodox Jew with hard-line views toward the Palestinians, while Lapid is secular and seen as more moderate. But they enjoyed a close working relationship during their short-lived coalition.
“We have been through a great deal together. We have made difficult decisions together. We know we can count on one another,” Lapid said.
Their alliance is aimed at uniting a fragmented opposition that appears to have little in common beyond their shared hostility toward Netanyahu.
Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid arrive to a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid hold a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett, left, and Yair Lapid hold a joint press conference announcing that their parties will run together in the upcoming elections, in Herzliya, Israel, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israel's then caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, talks with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/Pool Photo via AP)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi registered his first World Cup hat trick while moving into a tie for first on the tournament's career scoring list Tuesday night, sending defending champion Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Algeria in its group-stage opener.
Messi scored his first goal in the opening minutes on a nice feed from Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, the second on a rebound early in the second half. Shortly after he got his third on a strike from the top of the penalty box, he subbed out to a standing ovation from a heavily pro-Argentina crowd.
The trio of goals gave him 16 for his career, putting him in a tie with Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the career record. They also allowed him to join Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to have scored in five World Cups.
“The first matches at the World Cup are always tough,” Messi said after playing in the tournament for a record-setting sixth time, “and we’re seeing that nobody’s giving anything away.”
Well, almost nothing. Algeria made some crucial mistakes on the first two of Messi's goals, which came 20 years to the day that he made his World Cup debut for Argentina in a match against Serbia and Montenegro — he scored in that one, too.
“We're not talking about any old footballer,” Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “Unfortunately we also afford him the opportunity with the first and second goal, and we actually made it easier for him. But Messi, with his clear thinking in crucial stages of the game, is able to do things that much more easily.”
Messi's brilliant hat trick helped Argentina get off to a much better start than its last World Cup. Four years ago, La Albiceleste were beaten by Saudi Arabia in their opening match in Qatar, only to rally from there to win their third world title.
“The first match is always tricky,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We had stumbled in the last World Cup and we needed to have a good debut today.”
Messi, who turns 39 next week, nearly had two other goals against Algeria, never once looking like the mild hamstring injury that worried fans in the run-up to the tournament was a problem. One found the back of the net but was called back because he was ever-so-slightly offside, and another strike in the second half just cleared the crossbar.
He was a pest on defense, too, helping Argentina lock down the overmatched Les Fennecs.
“Argentina have a special player who can change a game on his own,” Algeria star Riyad Mahrez said.
Algeria's best chance came in the opening minutes, when Fares Chaibi's would-be goal was taken away by a VAR review that showed he was offside. Messi scored moments later, and the rest of the night belonged to him and Argentina.
“I like playing soccer. It’s been my passion since I was little,” Messi said. “When I’m in good shape, I give it my all.”
The game played at Arrowhead Stadium fulfilled the longtime dream of the late Lamar Hunt, who not only founded the NFL franchise that calls it home, but who was instrumental in the growth of soccer in the U.S. from the 1960s through the early 2000s.
Hunt played a big role in the U.S. hosting the 1994 World Cup. His sons, Clark and Dan, are doing likewise with this edition.
Among those in the crowd on a picture-perfect night in the Heartland were Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who traded in his usual red-and-yellow football uniform for a blue sweatsuit and white shirt, and his wife, Brittany.
Argentina will continue its pursuit of back-to-back titles in Arlington, Texas, when it plays Austria on Monday and Jordan on June 27. Algeria plays Jordan on Monday in Santa Clara, California, before facing Austria in its Group J finale on June 27 in Kansas City.
“The goal,” De Paul said, “is always to arrive on the first day and leave on the last.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring their second goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
General view during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his third goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his third goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) shoots and scores their third goal against Algeria's Riyad Mahrez (7) and Nabil Bentaleb (19) during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
