Shas Leader Aryeh Deri Declares Full Loyalty to Netanyahu, Criticizes Gadi Eizenkot

Aryeh Deri, chairman of the Shas party, delivered a sharp interview on Thursday evening with Yishai Cohen on Kikar HaShabbat, where he firmly declared his party's absolute loyalty to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Deri stated unequivocally, "We support Netanyahu, period!" and rejected engagement with Gadi Eizenkot, leader of the Yisrael party, by abruptly ending a discussion with him.

During the interview, Deri launched a strong attack against Eizenkot, accusing him of leading a hostile camp against the religious Jewish public. Deri said, "Eizenkot heads a camp of hatred against everything Jewish." He emphasized that Shas stands firmly with Netanyahu and the religious bloc, asserting, "The religious bloc is ours."

These statements come amid rising political tensions between the coalition and opposition. Recent polls show Eizenkot's Yisrael party gaining strength with 22 seats, positioning it as a leading center-left alternative, while the current coalition has weakened to 58 seats. Political analyst Michael Shemesh noted that Shas's poor showing in the latest poll, where it received only seven seats, might explain Deri's harsh tone. Shemesh commented on Kol Barama radio that the pressure from these poll results could be influencing Shas's rhetoric.