Shas chairman Aryeh Deri criticized the State Attorney’s office for trying to thwart his intention to serve as a minister in the incoming government.
Deri was quoted as saying in closed conversations, "Three months ago, I ran for the Knesset. If this was indeed a violation of the settlement, why didn't the State Attorney’s office demand that the sentence be changed? Why didn't they claim that I violated the plea agreement? Even today, I invite anyone who wants to appeal to the court and claim that I violated the arrangement."
Deri further said in the closed conversations, as revealed on Sunday by Channel 12 News’ Amit Segal, "Everyone in the State Attorney’s office knows the truth, and it is that there was talk of resigning from the previous Knesset and nothing else, and that too was beyond the letter of the law and not as part of the settlement."
"I am determined to realize the will of the voters of Shas that was not hidden in the elections, that I serve on their behalf as the senior representative in the government," he added.
The Knesset on Thursday night approved the first reading of a law allowing Deri to be appointed a minister despite his recent conviction on tax offenses.
Deri was sentenced in February to a one-year suspended sentence, along with a fine of 180,000 shekels, as part of a plea bargain.
As part of the plea bargain, Deri was not barred from returning to politics on the grounds of moral turpitude, but was forced to resign from the Knesset.
On Sunday, the Maariv newspaper reported that Deri had met with senior lawyers who advised him to avoid exacerbating the crisis with the judicial system by dropping the so-called “Deri Law”.
Those legal sources reportedly told the Shas chairman continuing to promote the law may be harmful and not bring about a solution which will allow Deri to serve as a minister.