Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has said in closed talks in recent days that if his party is sent to the opposition, he will leave the Knesset and "run Shas from the outside.
Deri is currently not a Knesset member, as he serves as interior minister and has resigned to make room for another MK from his party under the "Norwegian law." Should Shas be excluded from the new government, Deri can return to the Knesset.
Meanwhile, Arutz Sheva has learned that Deri has been exerting enormous pressure on senior Yamina member MK Ayelet Shaked to jump ship in light of Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett's efforts to form a government with Yair Lapid.
Deri spoke on the phone with Shaked several times. The last conversation was this afternoon, during which Deri asked her to continue her efforts to form a rotation government with Netanyahu, Sa'ar and Bennett all serving as prime minister over the next four years.
Deri also explained to Ayelet Shaked why her going along with Bennett would not contribute to her political future, and said that if Shaked were to prevent a government with the left, she would be remembered as a hero in the national camp.