MK Sharren Haskel Resigns Over Draft Evasion Law, Seeks Party Split to Retain Rights

MK Sharren Haskel of New Hope submitted a resignation letter to her party leader and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, accusing him of lying to her and the Israeli public and announcing her resignation as his deputy. Her resignation follows the recent passage of a law exempting draft evaders, which she opposed, stating it harms both soldiers and national security. Haskel also filed a request with the Knesset Committee to split from the New Hope faction and form a single-member faction, aiming to preserve her party funding and strengthen her negotiating position with other parties.

However, Israeli law requires at least one-third of a faction's members to split off for such a move, a threshold Haskel does not meet, making her request legally contentious. This is expected to trigger a legal battle or a negotiated settlement with Sa'ar. In her detailed letter to the committee, Haskel argued that the split provision is designed to protect a Knesset member's freedom when their faction changes its political identity, which she claims happened when New Hope merged with Likud, altering its character.

Right-wing members criticized Haskel, accusing her of attempting to secure party funding for personal political gain shortly before the Knesset's dissolution. They described her move as baseless and ungrateful, emphasizing that she exhausted her term as deputy foreign minister. It is anticipated that Sa'ar will block the committee from approving her request, but Haskel appears prepared to pursue the matter in court. Her resignation and faction split attempt come days before the Knesset is set to dissolve, marking a significant political rift within New Hope.