Israel’s Center Party, headed by Tourism Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, announced Wednesday it will disperse, reported Haaretz newspaper.
Shahak convened the six-member Knesset faction and said the faction cannot continue to exist “because there is no party behind it, nor joint faction initiatives.”
“Therefore the partnership should terminate in good spirits,” he said.
MKs Dan Meridor and Roni Milo preferred to postpone the dissolution, saying there is no reason to hurry, but they eventually accepted the majority opinion, said the paper, adding that Yitzhak Mordechai, who has been inactive in the party since his trial on sexual assault charges began, did not attend the meeting and sent a representative on his behalf.
Next week, said Haaretz, the faction members would have to decide how they are to disperse.
One possibility is that Shahak, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof and Uri Savir would establish an independent faction.
Meridor and Milo may join forces, but they would face a problem if Mordechai would want to join them, said Haaretz.
Milo told the paper that he would not sit with Mordechai in the same faction.
Another possibility is that Savir and Rabin-Pelossof would join forces, and Shahak, Meridor and Milo would go their own way.
The Center Party was established in 1999.
Despite being led by four senior politicians - Mordechai, Shahak, Meridor and Milo - the party received only six seats in the Knesset.
According to Haaretz, the faction was not active in the Knesset because of many quarrels between its members and no faction institutions were built – Albawaba.com
