The representatives of the United Right-Wing arrived at the President’s Residence on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the formation of a coalition and to recommend a candidate to receive the presidential mandate to form the new coalition. The party has stated in advance it was going to recommend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

When party leaders met with PM Netanyahu on Monday night, they explained they wish to have joint control of the Ministry of Religious Services together with Shas, citing that while it respects the chareidi party and the chareidim, the ministry is not the property of the chareidim.

Shas party chairman, Minister Aryeh Deri on the other hand has expressed his desire to maintain total and exclusive control over the Religious Ministry as they do today.

A senior Shas official is quoted by Kikar Shabbos News saying, “There is a need to emphasize. Bayit Yehudi of today is not Bayit Yehudi of the previous coalition, Rabbi Rafi Peretz and Smotrich are not Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked, they do not view the Office of the Chief Rabbinate as a problem.”

The official believes that it is possible to reach understandings between the parties, with Shas running the ministry while cooperating with the United Right-Wing.

It is pointed out that the director-general of the ministry, who was appointed by Shas, is dati leumi.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)