In the wake of reports that MK Eli Yishai is about to leave the Shas party, the Shas Council of Torah Sages on Saturday night instructed MK Aryeh Deri not to meet Yishai on Sunday as originally planned.

Rabbi Shimon Baadani, a member of the Council of Torah Sages, informed Deri of the instruction not to meet with Yishai and added that anything related to Yishai will be handled solely by the Council of Torah Sages.

Shas MKs have been instructed not to give interviews to the media about Yishai and focus on the upcoming elections.

Political sources close to Yishai said earlier that he would be leaving Shas, which he headed for years, until the political comeback of Deri, his rival.

At present, it is not clear what Yishai’s plans are for the near future. There appear to be several options: he may establish a party with Minister Uri Ariel, who is threatening to leave the Jewish Home; he may form a Sephardic hareidi party that will be a direct competitor to Shas, or he may quit politics altogether.

In recent years, and especially since the passing of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ztz”l, Deri has been doing all he could to force Yishai out of the party, sources close to Yishai told Arutz Sheva.

The Council of Torah Sages has become a political body under Deri’s control instead of a spiritual rabbinical body as it was when Shas was founded, they said.

Yishai will call a press conference Sunday or soon thereafter and announce his plans.