Israel's top court rules Amichai Chikli can run on Likud list

Justices also rule that Arab party Balad and MK Idit Silman will be allowed to run for the 25th Knesset

i24NEWS
i24NEWS
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Amichai Chikli during a conference by the Israeli newspaper "Makor Rishon" at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel on February 21, 2022.
Amichai Chikli during a conference by the Israeli newspaper "Makor Rishon" at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel on February 21, 2022.Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Israel's Supreme Court justices announced on Sunday that former Knesset (Israel's parliament) member Amichai Chikli will be eligible to run on the Likud slate in the upcoming elections on November 1.

The decision was accepted by a majority of 8 to 1 – only Judge Ofer Grosskopf opposed it. Meanwhile, the judges unanimously ruled that Arab party Balad and MK Idit Silman will also be allowed to run for the 25th Knesset.

Chikli was ousted from Yamina in April, ten months after he opposed the party by refusing to vote for the coalition. In July, he resigned his seat in the Knesset after reaching an agreement with the Jerusalem District Court to avoid punishment in the upcoming elections.

The left-leaning Meretz party had filed a petition to have Chikli ineligible, saying he had not resigned in due time after leaving Yamina and should therefore be personally sanctioned. "Chikli and Silman's armor in Likud symbolizes government corruption," Meretz chief Zehava Galon said in response to the ruling. "Even if the High Court decides it's kosher, it's all bribery."

The court heard motions on Thursday to reinstate or disqualify Silman and Chikli from the electoral lists. 

During the hearing, Chikli asked to speak in front of the judges and those present in the courtroom and stressed, "I stuck to the party position, I stuck to the voters." 

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