Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony for the 24th Knesset on Tuesday, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) submitted letters of resignation to Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin.

The Chareidi ministers resigned under the Norwegian Law that allows ministers and deputy ministers to resign from the Knesset to allow their seats to be taken by the next person on the party’s list. The ministers remain ministers and if they leave their position for whatever reason, they can return to the Knesset in place of their replacement.

Yaakov Tessler of UTJ entered the Knesset in place of Litzman and Yosef Tayb of Shas entered the Knesset in place of Deri.

Several hours later, Deputy Transportation Minister Uri Maklev (UTJ) also submitted a letter of resignation to Levin, allowing the next candidate on the UTJ list, Eliyahu Baruchi, to enter the Knesset.

Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush (UTJ), who is currently abroad, is also expected to resign when he returns to Israel, allowing Moshe Roth, a representative of the Sanzer Chassidus and the tenth candidate on the UTJ list, to enter the Knesset.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)