Shas Party Leader Aryeh Deri Resigns Knesset Seat for Younger Members

Aryeh Deri, the head of the Shas party, announced on Sunday his withdrawal from the party's Knesset list and his decision not to serve in the 26th Knesset. MKs Moshe Abu Tbul and Dror Amos also resigned from the party's list. Channel 13 reported that MKs Uriel Busso and Yossi Taieb will enter the Knesset in their place. Deri stated that he will continue to lead the Shas party, following a request from the Council of Torah Sages last week. He explained his decision to vacate his Knesset seat was to make way for younger representatives who have proven themselves in parliamentary work. Deri plans to conduct extensive field tours across the country to enhance direct communication with the party's bases, representatives, activists, and the public. He will continue to hold weekly Shas faction meetings and guide Knesset members, overseeing their legislative work and committee activities.

In a related political development, sources within Shas have not ruled out the possibility of supporting a "change government" led by Gadi Eisenkot, provided that the United Torah Judaism party joins such a move. However, the Haredi parties have not yet made a decision regarding participation in a government headed by Eisenkot. Any preliminary approval to begin negotiations would require resolving the dispute over the conscription of yeshiva students. There are estimations within the "change bloc" that the Haredi parties lean towards the conscription formula proposed by Avigdor Lieberman in 2018. A Shas source linked potential support for an Eisenkot government to the stance of Rabbi Dov Lando, whose opinion could be decisive for the Haredi parties. Shas had previously recommended Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister to form the government.