Report: Ra’am to boycott Knesset hearing on ousting Yamina rebel MK from party

The Ra’am party has decided that its representative on the Knesset’s House Committee will boycott a planned hearing on the ouster of a rebel lawmaker from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s party, according to a Saturday report.

The party did not immediately confirm Channel 12’s reporting.

MK Amichai Chikli ran as part of Yamina in last year’s election, but refused to join the ruling coalition over its inclusion of the Islamist Arab party. He has remained in the party, however, while opposing the government on numerous key votes.

Bennett’s party held off on seeking to legally brand Chikli a defector despite his rebellion, but earlier this month pushed ahead with the punitive measure, which would limit Chikli’s ability to run again or serve in certain capacities.

The move was seen as a bid to stop other MKs from bolting, after Yamina MK Idit Silman left the coalition, depriving the government of its majority and leaving the Knesset deadlocked.

According to Channel 12, Ra’am decided following internal deliberations that MK Walid Taha will not attend the House Committee’s hearing on Monday. Per the network, the move was part of an effort to show that Ra’am was serious about its temporary freeze of its membership in the Knesset and the coalition.

Last week, Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas announced the temporary membership freeze, given mounting pressure on the party to take action over the recent violent clashes between Muslim worshipers and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Ra’am’s decision to freeze its coalition membership has been largely declarative so far, because parliament is in recess, though opposition sources said last week that they saw it as a further opportunity to weaken the coalition, encourage defections, and bring down the government.

Monday’s hearing could create actual ramifications for the move.

The House Committee is made up of 11 members, eight of which belong to the coalition. Despite Taha’s absence, it is believed that there will be a majority to oust Chikli from Yamina.

If approved, his ouster could be a blow to Chikli’s political aspirations, as Knesset rules would prevent him from running with any faction currently sitting in the parliament in the next elections, which — if the government collapses without an alternative proposal from the opposition — could be declared soon.

Chikli, however, could potentially form a new political faction, something he has recently hinted that he is considering.