A coalition without hareidi-religious parties could cause a national rift, leaders of the Shas party said Sunday, Reshet Bet reports. Aryeh Deri said that a coalition without hareidi MKs would be a coalition of the middle and upper classes, not of less-developed regions and poorer segments of society.

Minister Eli Yishai said the situation would create an unprecedented risk of a tear in the fabric of Israeli society. He said that Shas has worked to encourage the trend of hareidi enlistment in the IDF and hareidi employment, but warned that trying to force change through legislature would lead to conflict.