Sunday, December 23, 2012

Likud Opens New Front Agianst Shas-Deri

Report by Jpost: The Likud also opened fire Sunday on Shas, warning that the party would soon draft legislation requiring yeshiva students to serve in the IDF, vowing to take the Housing Ministry back from Shas, and promising ads attacking one of Shas's leaders, Arye Deri, for supporting the Oslo diplomatic process.

 "Deri is not our natural partner the way Shas used to be when only Eli Yishai was in charge,” a Likud official said in a remark that angered leading Shas officials.

Sources in Shas said it was now clear that Netanyahu did not want them in his next coalition. They said all political options would be open to the party, including recommending to President Shimon Peres that Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich form the next government instead of Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu is known in politics as someone who takes advantage of people and then throws them away without even letting them know,” a Shas official said.

Note: The strategy is believed to be to suffocate the Right-Wing Bloc, by siphoning out as much votes possible from Bayit Yehudi and Shas, in order to expand the Likud Beitenu base of voters, and arrive in a strong upper hand in forming the next government.