Shas chairman Aryeh Deri clarified Thursday that his party will not return to the government until the draft law is passed in its final readings in the Knesset plenum, pushing back against claims within the coalition that he is seeking an immediate return.

Amid renewed political maneuvering following MK Yinon Azoulay’s return to his role as chairman of the Knesset Health Committee, coalition officials had speculated that Deri was aiming to reenter the government quickly in order to regain control of key ministries, including the Interior Ministry, the Religious Services Ministry, and the Health Ministry.

Sources in Degel HaTorah reportedly told senior coalition figures this week that Deri intended to bring Shas back into the government immediately after the draft law is approved by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, without waiting for final passage in the plenum.

However, it was learned that in a conversation Thursday with close associates, Deri made clear that Shas would not settle for committee approval alone. “Shas will not return to the government until the draft law passes second and third readings in the Knesset plenum; we will not suffice with approval of the law in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.”

As previously reported, during a discussion with rabbonim in Tiveriah, where Deri spent last Shabbos, the Shas chairman expressed his assessment that national elections are likely to take place in the middle of the month of Elul.

In the Knesset, coalition members are said to prefer scheduling elections at least a week before Rosh Hashanah in order to allow the thousands of voters who travel to the kever of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman to cast their ballots.

The date being discussed within the coalition, and one Deri himself is said to view as likely, is Tuesday, the 19th of Elul, which falls about a week and a half before Rosh Hashanah, corresponding this year to September 1.

{Matzav.com}