Shas MK Avraham Bezalel strongly criticized the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the court prepares to give its decision on the petitions against the reasonableness of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri serving as a minister given his multiple convictions for crimes committed during previous terms in a ministerial position.
Bezalel told the Knesset Channel that if the Supreme Court disqualifies Deri from serving as Interior and Health Minister, they will "shoot themselves in the head."
In closed conversations, Deri referred to the expected verdict and said: "I don't know what the course of action will be. Netanyahu, Levin and the coalition need to find a solution, this is not a one-off issue of Shas, there is a struggle between two extremes here and we have entered the line of fire. Obviously, it is impossible to continue with the situation where the court hurts the people who went to the polls. I know Netanyahu wants to solve the problem."
Deri has stated that he will not resign even if the court rules that he cannot serve as a minister. "I will not resign. The petition is not against me, it is against the Prime Minister who will need to fire me. What do they want, that I help the Supreme Court pull their chestnuts out of the fire? The public elected me - not the Supreme Court."
Israel Hayom reported that Deri directed the Shas MKs to be interviewed on the issue of the court's ruling and that they speak about the problem rather than a solution. "The public wants to hear from you about the pain, the problem, the terrible absurdity that 11 judges would decide instead of hundreds of thousands of people - and not in the name of the law, but in the name of reasonableness." Deri told his MKs that if they are asked about the solutions, they should say that "the prime minister should solve the problem, we trust him."