Aryeh Deri
Aryeh DeriHadas Parush/Flash 90

Interior Minister and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri on Thursday responded to the declaration of senior members of the Blue and White party that they would establish a secular liberal unity government without the haredim.

In an interview with journalist Yair Sherki at the Channel 12 News Influencers Conference, Deri said that "[Yair] Lapid is not worthy of being a minister in the government" and that he cannot forgive him on a personal level. Lapid "does extremely serious things – like the exclusion of the weak sectors in Israel."

Deri stated that he supported Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and believes he will be the one to receive the mandate from the President to form the government after the election. "I think that at this time, Netanyahu is the most appropriate man for the State of Israel on social and security-related tasks. On the other side, they sit for one night in [the wealthy town of] Savyon and form a party."

If Netanyahu does not receive the mandate from the President, Deri said he would prefer a government with Gideon Sa'ar and Yuli Edelstein from the Likud over a government led by Benny Gantz.

"The Likud is the only stable party that can maintain the framework," Deri said. "There are differences of opinion but there is also a partnership in both tradition and social issues. Obviously we are on the right, there is no more left. There is no one to negotiate with. The right is more social today and we have more things in common today with the Likud than with anyone else."