Yaakov Litzman
Yaakov LitzmanHillel Maeir/TPS

Deputy Health Minister MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) said at a conference on Tuesday evening that coalition negotiations with the Likud were still ongoing.

"We have not yet finished as of this evening with the principle issues, such as enlistment, Shabbat, and education and I am not even talking about money. We are in the midst of the negotiations. We will approve the text of the Council of Torah Sages, we will not approve anything else, both on the issue of Shabbat and on education," said Litzman, according to the Behadrei Haredim news website.

He stressed that there is no crisis with the Likud, but also made clear that United Torah Judaism is not afraid of going to elections. "I know that there are people who are upset, but we do only what the Council of Torah Sages says. If the rabbis are not satisfied, we are not afraid to go to elections. There is no crisis, but we are negotiating and we have to be careful not to talk about it too much."

Litzman said that the sides have rarely discussed the question of roles in the government, but made clear that there would be equality between Agudath Israel and Degel Hatorah.

"We are still far from talking about roles. We talked about it just a bit. We are not discussing what the additional roles will be, but we will insist that there be equality between Agudath Israel and Degel Hatorah,” he stressed.