Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that he does not plan to attempt to advance the initiative of Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, to directly elect the prime minister. Mr. Netanyahu explains that at present, he is busy with efforts towards establishing a national unity coalition government.

Newly-elected Likud party chairman, MK Miki Zohar, commented earlier in the day that Netanyahu is indeed trying to advance the Deri initiative as did the chairwoman of the New Right party, MK Ayelet Shaked, who made her announcement in Knesset regarding the direct election of the prime minister. Shaked feels this would be to extricate the country from the current political stalemate.

The statements released on Tuesday by Zohar and Shaked appear to have prompted the prime minister to release the clarification on the matter.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)