The United Torah Judaism party announced on Friday that it would not join the Kadima party in the government that Kadima leader Tzipi Livni is trying to form. UTJ said it could not get a commitment from Kadima to oppose negotiations with the Palestinian Authority on the status of Jerusalem. The party shares concern over Jerusalem and budget support for large families with the Shas party, which announced earlier on Friday that it would not enter a Livni government.
Inclusion of UTJ and the Gil Pensioners' Party would have given Livni a "narrow" government, based on parties holding 60 Knesset seats. Without the hareidi-religious faction, Livni is almost certain to call for elections when she meets with President Shimon Peres on Sunday. Peres could assign the task of forming a government to another party instead of accepting the election option.