Following the instruction of Lithuanian-haredi leader Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the Degel HaTorah Party will likely demand the chairmanship of the Knesset Finance Committee for party chairman MK Moshe Gafni during coalition negotiations.
Degel HaTorah is one of the two parties that make up the United Torah Judaism Party, alongside Agudat Yisrael.
"The ideological decision regarding not taking ministerial positions in the government stands," sources in Degal HaTorah said on Saturday night. "The Knesset members of the movement will hold other senior positions, committee chairmen and deputy ministers, and will fight with all their might on the issue of the housing crisis, the issue of education and other issues that are on the agenda of haredi Judaism."
Meanwhile, MK Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to become Israel's next Prime Minister, has invited the heads of the nationalist parties to personal meetings on Sunday, for the purpose of beginning coalition negotiations.
Netanyahu has not yet been officially tapped to form the next government, but it is expected that the right-wing camp wishes to form a government quickly and complete negotiations before President Isaac Herzog officially taps Netanyahu - who has the support of a majority of MKs - to form the government.
Since the Religious Zionist, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam parties ran together in a technical bloc but are not officially a single list, Netanyahu is expected to meet with the leader of each party separately.
Meanwhile, within the Likud itself, both MKs Yariv Levin and David Amsalem are eyeing the Justice Ministry, with Amsalem saying that if he does not receive it, he will prefer to remain an MK. Levin, for his party, is also eyeing the Foreign Ministry, as is Likud MK Amir Ohana.