Shas chief Aryeh Deri is weighing whether to acquiesce to a request by MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), who is expected to become prime minister, that he accept the position of Finance Minister, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
According to the report, Deri is inclined not to accept the offer and to instead prefer a position as Interior Minister and Minister of the Periphery, Negev, and Galilee.
Kikar Hashabbat also reported that during the coalition negotiations, Deri proposed that a Shas MK would serve as a Minister in the Finance Ministry, with responsibility for the yeshivas' budgets and other budgets connected to the haredi sector.
Among the ministries Shas is demanding are the Interior Ministry, Welfare Ministry, Negev and Galilee Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, and to serve as head of the Interior Committee. Deri is demanding four ministerial positions for his party.
It is expected that with regards to the Religious Affairs Ministry, an agreement will be reached with the Religious Zionism party under which the ministry will go to Shas but a Religious Zionist minister will serve in the ministry and both sides will reach agreements regarding the appointment of rabbis and religious judges.