Chairman of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) Knesset faction, MK Yaakov Litzman, said Monday that his party would not join the ruling coalition. Earlier, MK Litzman met with Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu in

"How is it possible to discuss joining a government that negotiates dividing Jerusalem....?" -- MK Litzman

Jerusalem.

"How is it possible to discuss joining a government that negotiates dividing Jerusalem, and that freezes construction in Jerusalem?" Litzman asked in an interview with Arutz Sheva Radio. United Torah Judaism has six seats in the current Knesset.

According to Litzman, those who speculate about the possibility of UTJ joining the government "are speaking amongst themselves. We are not negotiating. We have no intention of joining the coalition."

Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai, chairman of the hareidi-religious Shas party, recently claimed that the division of Jerusalem is not currently under discussion between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. When asked by Arutz Sheva about Yishai's statement, MK Litzman replied, "Perhaps he is saying such things because he wishes to remain in the government. ...I sat with senior officials in the Housing Ministry, and I was shocked by the information [about the building freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria]."

The Shas party, which promised to quit the government if the status of Jerusalem were discussed with the PA, is under heavy pressure from the right-wing and the religious blocs. Shas's departure would leave the coalition without a majority in the Knesset.

Senior sources in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party have said that, once the current status of the coalition becomes clear, there will be a negotiating effort to try and bring the UTJ MKs to join it. If the effort fails, Kadima will try and enlist the support of the far-left Meretz faction, according to the sources.

On Sunday, MK Litzman met with opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud party, in a Jerusalem hotel. The two faction heads discussed the political situation and the diplomatic threat to the nation's capital. Both Likud and UTJ sources confirmed that the meeting is part of regular consultations between the parties' leadership.

Earlier this month, UTJ constituent factions Agudas Yisroel and Degel HaTorah signed a proclamation by the Hareidi-religious Council of Torah Sages in Israel and the United States that called for "prayer and fasting" over "danger [that] threatens both body and soul" in Israel. "During these days, items are on agendas that could place entire populations of Jews into grave danger, G-d forbid - including those in the Holy City of Jerusalem," the call for Jewish solidarity said.