Interior Minister Aryeh Deri today rejected an initiative to unify the haredi parties, claiming he had received no official proposal.
"Until this moment, I haven't received an orderly proposal, so I can't even reject it. I heard about it in the media," Deri said in an interview with Army Radio, referring to reports about Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky's grandson's attempt to unite the three haredi parties.
According to him, in the meantime all the parties are only splitting up. "I only hear about splitting parties," he said. "Today, the haredi parties are the only ones running on an ideological basis."
"We're already signing on campaigns with professionals and opening branches throughout the country," Deri said.
"In the local elections, 272,000 people voted Shas," adding that even before the upcoming campaign, Shas' electoral power is between nine and 10 seats.
He hinted that Eli Yishai had no place in the party. "Whoever rebels against the Council of Torah Sages, which is our only leadership, has no place in our movement," he said.