Yamina leader Ayelet Shaked is trying to find her way back to her original political home, the Habayit Hayehudi party, sources familiar with the issue told Israel Hayom on Wednesday.
Shaked and former Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett splintered from the national-religious party ahead of the April 9 elections and formed the New Right, seeking the gnaw at the Likud and Habayit Hayehudi's voter base. But the New Right failed to pass the 3.25% electoral threshold.
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Ahead of the Sept. 17 elections, the New Right teamed with the other small right-wing parties to form Yamina, a faction comprising the New Right, Habayit Hayehudi and National Union parties. The alliance won seven Knesset seats.
According to Habayit Hayehudi sources, Shaked has been meeting with senior officials in the party in an effort to facilitate her return and plans to challenge Rafi Peretz for Habayit Hayehudi's leadership in the future.
The move was apparently inspired by Bennett's own attempts to find his way back to his original political home – the Likud.
Shaked herself can't join the Likud at this time, as Basic Law: The Knesset, which governs the process of elections to the Israeli parliament, bars MKs who splinter from their parties from joining slates already elected, meaning she would have to wait out the mandatory three years' cooling-off period to join Likud.
Likud could opt to waive the cooling-off period or cut it short, as was the case when MK Yoav Gallant broke from Kulanu, but to her chagrin, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor any senior Likud member seems interested in lobbying on her behalf.
These leaves Shaked with Habayit Hayehudi, whose cooling-off period stands at 18 months, and which can also choose to waive. But Peretz and Shaked are not close, so she has to trust those still loyal to her in Habayit Hayehudi to pressure him into allowing her return.
Shaked's associates said that reports of her trying to stage a return to Habayit Hayehudi are unfounded.
"Shaked is meeting with officials from across the political Right to formulate plans for the future," a statement from Shaked's office said.
