The Supreme Court on Sunday summarily dismissed a petition filed by former Member of Knesset Sharren Haskel against the Likud party, in which she sought approval to split from the faction. The ruling was delivered by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit alongside Justices Dafna Barak-Erez and Alex Stein.
Haskel argued that Likud and the National Right party were delaying their formal merger specifically to prevent her from factionally splitting away from them.
In their decision, the justices wrote: "In the case before us, the petitioner's opposition to the merger materialized in practice long after the original merger agreement was signed, and a considerable period after actions were taken that, by her own account, reflected its actual implementation - all without presenting the matter for Knesset approval."
The court further noted in its ruling: "Under the circumstances of this case, there is no need to address the claims raised by the petitioner regarding the vote for State Comptroller, as this matter is irrelevant to the petition at hand."
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court as part of her petition to split from the National Right faction, Haskel also alleged that during the runoff vote for State Comptroller, members of the New Hope faction were instructed to "record their vote on video" and present the footage "to the Prime Minister, stripping them of any capacity for independent judgment." She added that media reports detailing the incident were accurate.
The allegations prompted a police investigation, during which Haskel provided testimony to the Lahav 433 major crimes unit. During her interrogation, investigators sought to clarify whether the directive to record the vote originated from within New Hope or from figures within Likud.