Shas party leader Aryeh Deri asks to step down after losing five mandates in the elections
Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, asked on Wednesday to be relieved of the chairman's post after the party's representation in the Knesset shrank from 11 to 6 mandates. The Council of Torah Sages is to consider the request, and according to Israeli broadcaster KAN, the rabbis will try to persuade Deri to stay. The party nevertheless recommended that the president task Netanyahu with forming a government.
Otabek Yusupov