MK Motti Yogev
MK Motti YogevEsti Desiubov/TPS

MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home) on Saturday night commented on the agreement for a joint Knesset run between Jewish Home and Otzma Yehudit.

"While I worked to sign an agreement with the National Union under the encouragement of Rabbi Rafi Peretz, an agreement was signed with the Otzma Yehudit party without my knowledge and without my consent,” he said.

“The party central committee should be convened urgently to discuss the agreement, how to select the list, a merger with the National Union and to allow the members of the Jewish Home to make the decision. We are a Zionist, religious and democratic party," added Yogev.

Earlier, sources close to Yogev said that, at a meeting about a week and a half ago at the home of Rabbi Chaim Druckman, Yogev was authorized by Rabbi Rafi Peretz to promote a plan to merge the Jewish Home and National Union parties.

Even though the outline was accidentally leaked to the media, the National Union commented on the outline. Rabbi Peretz's office did not address it, despite public pleadings to see a move of unity and the promotion of internal elections in religious Zionism.

The sources also said that another meeting was held last week, in the presence of National Union members Minister Bezalel Smotrich and MK Ofir Sofer, in which Rabbi Peretz insisted on not agreeing on anything and although it was agreed to continue talks, his office said the next morning it did not intend to promote a move of primaries in Zionism Religious.

Yogev was informed by telephone of the agreement with Otzma Yehudit as it was signed, just moments before the media was updated about it.