Ousted Yamina MK to reveal new party in coming weeks, says associate

On the eve of elections being declared, a source close to former Yamina MK Amichai Chikli says the rebel lawmaker will announce details about his much-speculated new party in about two weeks.

Chikli was ousted from Yamina two months ago in retaliation for functionally operating as an opposition MK since the government’s instantiation last June, and as an ultimately failed warning to other MKs to stay in line.

As part of the personal sanctions emanating from his ouster, Chikli cannot run in the next elections with an existing Knesset party slate.

Leaders from the opposition’s religious-right bloc have reportedly been wary of an independent Chikli run, fearing that he could not garner the 3.25% of votes necessary to cross the electoral threshold and instead will draw wasted votes away from Likud and Religious Zionism.

Chikli is currently appealing his ouster at the High Court of Justice.