Senior sources in the Agudat Yisrael faction on Monday night said that they believe Degel Hatorah will decide to run independently, splitting the United Torah Judaism list ahead of the coming elections.
Degel Hatorah and Agudat Yisrael have run together for several years, as the joint United Torah Judaism (UTJ) list.
On Monday, the two factions held a meeting in Bnei Brak, saying afterwards that there had been a "good atmosphere" at the meeting and that they had tried to reach agreements acceptable to the Torah sages.
However, according to Kikar Hashabbat, as the hours passed after the meeting, both sides became more firmly entrenched in their positions, such that as of Tuesday morning, Agudat Yisrael believes that Degel Hatorah will run independently.
"Degel is barreling towards a split," sources told Kikar Hashabbat. "We hope that they are not putting on a show in order to prove that they 'did everything' in order to prevent a split. It's doubtful if there is really a way back."
According to an Agudat Yisrael MK, the demands that were reached after the negotiations meeting prove that Degel is seeking an excuse to blow up the negotiations.
"I am despairing of the possibility of a united run, we are preparing for an independent run, that's where this is headed," he said.
Meanwhile, it is not clear whether the compromise agreed upon in the meeting will be acceptable to both the Belzer Rebbe and Lithuanian-haredi leader Rabbi Gershon Edelstein.