Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday responded to an ultimatum from the Shas party, issuing a threat of his own to the government's stability. Speaking to the Knesset plenum, Smotrich said, "I very much hope that we will be able to pass a good Draft Law, which will completely change the reality and enlist the haredim to the army, because we need them. It's simply an existential, security, national need." "Now we need them," he stressed. "There's nothing we can do about it, there isn't a small and smart army, we need a large, smart, aggressive, deadly army and therefore they know that what was is not what will be, and therefore it is complicated and it's hard because we are not willing to give discounts here, and I hope we'll manage to bring a good Draft Law and also the budget." Related articles: My hand will be cut off before I sit with Mansour Abbas Finance Min. calls for personal sanctions on haredi draft dodgers Haredi newspaper criticizes haredi draft conference 'Rabbis will decide if budget can come before draft law' However, he warned, if agreement on a Draft Law is not reached, "We will not be willing to compromise. If we were willing to sell everything, then we would've had a Draft Law ages ago, but we're not willing. We are giving our haredi brothers and partners a real demand for change, and that they should take part in the enormous mitzvah (Torah commandment) and national, Zionist, Jewish, moral, ethical, minimum obligation to shoulder the burden of security." Smotrich also clarified that despite the complexity, he hopes that they will reach an agreement: "I hope that we find a middle ground and there will be a [Draft] law and a budget. If, G-d forbid, we don't, then I say to my haredi brothers that we can decide to simply pass the budget and dissolve the Knesset. But we cannot leave a country in war without a budget - there is no way in the world, and here I am giving you responsibility - there will not be such a situation." Aryeh Deri Credit: Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90 On Tuesday, Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri, issued an ultimatum , telling Kol B'Rama Radio , "The coalition heads and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are determined to regulate the status of yeshiva students. They have two months to sort this out; this is the test. If it is not sorted out, we will go to elections." He further stated: "It is one thing when the Left conducts a campaign against Torah scholars to bring down the government – I might understand that, but when National Religious people, from among our own sector, participate in this campaign of hatred – they themselves will bring about the downfall of the right-wing government." "I have been in politics for forty years, the Right has never excelled in political wisdom. The enemy of the Right has always been the Right itself, which has toppled Right wing governments because of short-sightedness. This repeats itself time and time again, unfortunately."