MK Sharren Haskel Files New Supreme Court Petition Against Likud and National Right Bloc Merger

MK Sharren Haskel, chair of the Israel Ahead party, submitted a second petition to Israel's Supreme Court challenging the merger between the Likud and National Right (Tikva Hadasha) factions. Filed on Sunday, the petition accuses the two factions of acting in bad faith by operating as a unified entity since signing their merger agreement on March 12, 2025, while deliberately avoiding formal approval by the Knesset Committee.

Haskel alleges this avoidance is a calculated move to circumvent Section 59 of the Knesset Law, which protects MKs opposing faction mergers by allowing them to split off as a single-member faction and retain their party funding. She claims the factions' conduct effectively traps her politically, blocking her from running independently in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. Haskel recently resigned as Deputy Minister in protest against controversial military conscription legislation, which she says harms equality and national security.

The petition requests the court to issue a conditional order compelling the factions to explain their refusal to submit the merger for official approval, to complete the merger process legally, and to grant an interim injunction preventing harm to her rights until a final ruling. Haskel criticized the factions for managing a "joint household" behind closed doors, distributing reserved spots and budgets while hiding documents from the Knesset to save money. She called the situation a "joke" undermining the rules and demanded the court put an end to these "schemes."