MK Elazar Stern
MK Elazar SternFlash 90

MK Elazar Stern has announced he will be joining Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party Saturday.

Stern recently resigned from Tzipi Livni's Hatnua party - part of an exodus of Hatnua MKs following Livni's merger with the Labor party.

It is as yet unclear what spot Stern will be allocated on Yesh Atid's list for the next Knesset; the secularist party is expected to drop from its current 19 seats to anything from 10-12 mandates, according to current polls.

Stern will be holding a press conference in Tel Aviv tomorrow (Sunday) to officially announce his move.

Following his resignation from Hatnua last month, Stern sent a letter to Tzipi Livni outlining his reasons for leaving, telling her he was "re-thinking" and "examining the correct way to continue to serve the public and the state," either from within or without the political field.

Livni responded by saying that she "respects Stern's decision to leave," adding that "Stern is a person of values" who had "worked to progress an open and accessible Judaism, and I am confident that he will be able to give to the State of Israel in whatever place he will be."