Labor Leader Amir Peretz announced Thursday that his party will be merging with Gesher, a party led by former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy-Abekasis. The move comes less than two weeks ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline by which all parties must finalize their Knesset rosters.
A favorite in the polls ahead of the April 9 elections, Levy-Abekasis was projected to win five parliament seats but failed to pass the electoral threshold.
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Political pundits described Peretz's move as marking a rightward shift for Labor in an attempt to broaden Labor's appeal to voters ahead of the Sept. 17 elections.
Presenting the move as a boost to Labor's socially minded policies, Peretz described Levy-Abekasis as "a pioneering woman, with a broad worldview of social justice [and] of the state's responsibility to the fate of the elderly, the handicapped, young couples and others."
Reflecting on the merger he said, "Today we are making a bid for everyone's heart with a message of unity, responsibility, and love. We will not be part of any virulent campaign. This party is a home for all those who feel they have been forgotten."
Levy-Abekasis said that she had been approached by many parties on both sides of the political spectrum with merger offers, saying she chose to team with Labor because "it felt like a natural move. We want to bring about real social change."
As part of the joint Knesset list, Gesher is expected to receive three seats in the top 10 spots.
Still, the merger came as somewhat of a surprise as Labor had been reported to be close to finalizing a merger with Meretz.
Israeli media reported that Peretz later informed Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz that he will no longer pursue a merger between the two parties.
Meretz warned that Peretz was "repeating the mistake of [former Labor leader] Avi Gabbay and destroying the possibility of mergers in the left-wing bloc."
The Blue and White party welcomed the Labor-Gesher merger, saying it would "prevent thousands of votes from being lost."
Meanwhile, Habayit Hayehudi leader Rafi Peretz is said to be under growing pressure to step aside in favor of Ayelet Shaked.
Party officials said there was a growing call within the national-religious party to welcome the former justice minister back into the fold and agree to her demand to head Habayit Hayehudi's list in the September elections.
Shaked, a controversial but very popular politician broke from Habayit Hayehudi in December with its then-leader Naftali Bennett to form the New Right. The two had hoped to bite into Habayit Hayehudi's electoral base by failed to pass the electoral threshold.
Also on Thursday, President Reuven Rivlin said that he will spare no effort to prevent a third election, which could be called should coalition negotiation fail once more.
"I will do whatever I can within the law to make sure that doesn't happen," he said, "It is very clear that the Israeli public is united over the fact they don't want a third election."
