MK Yuli Edelstein announced on Channel 12 News' “Meet the Press" program that he is leaving the Likud party to embark on a new political path.
"I do not intend to run in the Likud primaries; I am setting out on a new path," Edelstein said during the interview, which will air in full on Saturday night. "It's a very difficult sentence to utter because there is the Likud faction we just spoke about, but there are also those loyal members who, right now, are hearing what I’m saying in total surprise and asking, 'What is Yuli doing?! We've backed him for decades, we would have backed him this time too - why is he doing this?'" Edelstein added.
Watch the Hebrew video:
The Likud faction previously ousted Edelstein from his position as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee following his refusal to advance the haredi draft bill demanded by the haredi factions. This week, Edelstein voted against the Basic Law: Torah Study which was passed in the Knesset.
His announcement came hours after Arutz Sheva-Israel National News published new details have emerged about the political party being formed with the encouragement of bereaved father Rabbi Benny Kalmanson.
The party, "Leyamin Zion" (lit.: to the right of Zion), has already been officially registered with the Registrar of Political Parties.
A source with knowledge of the details stated that the process has been ongoing for several months already and was born out of the understanding that right-wing voters are searching for political belonging and are unable to find it in any of the existing parties.
The parties' founders approached several political figures with the intention of bringing candidates who are well-known to the public and have proven themselves through their actions. The names that were already published are Edelstein and former Minister Ayelet Shaked, with whom the founders have held intense talks. Now we can add that the new party is in contact with former Beit Shemesh Mayor Aliza Bloch, Samaria Regional Council Deputy Chairman Davidi Ben Zion, and bereaved father Hagay Lober.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)