Likud and Tikva Hadasha Reject Sharren Haskel's Petition Over Merger Agreement

Likud and Tikva Hadasha jointly submitted a response to the Supreme Court regarding MK Sharren Haskel's petition demanding the formal completion of the merger process between the two factions. They requested the court to dismiss the petition outright, arguing that the merger agreement has not been breached but rather implemented differently than originally stipulated. The parties contend that the agreement is political and not legally enforceable.

The response explains that both parties mutually decided to execute the agreement in a manner different from Section 3 of the merger deal. They emphasize that this is not a case of breach by one side but a consensual change in implementation, thus lacking legal grounds to enforce a specific clause. Although the formal merger process remains incomplete and the agreed "effective merger date" was not met, Likud and Tikva Hadasha maintain this does not constitute a violation since political agreements can be modified by mutual consent.

Haskel filed her petition after resigning as Deputy Foreign Minister and founding the "Israel Ahead" party. She alleges that Likud and Tikva Hadasha operate as a single faction while deliberately avoiding formal merger completion to prevent her from splitting off as a single-member faction entitled to party funding under the law. She seeks a court order to finalize the merger and recognize her rights accordingly.

Likud also refuted Haskel's claim that Tikva Hadasha MKs were required to film their votes for the State Comptroller election and submit the footage to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The party stated these allegations are baseless, noting that previous affidavits showed the recordings were made voluntarily by MKs without any demand from Likud or Netanyahu. Haskel did not provide any affidavit supporting her claim or specify who allegedly required the recordings, so the party argues the claim should be disregarded.