Although Deri was ousted from the government, he has decided to keep his ultra-Orthodox Shas party in the coalition, confidant Barak Seri said on army radio. The fact that the Israeli court voted against Deri’s appointment – given his conviction for tax fraud – has caused quite a bit of turmoil in Israel.
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Deri once again joins the Israeli cabinet, where he will be officially fired by Netanyahu. Nonetheless, he should continue to play an influential role in Israel. “He will still be able to exert influence and will remain as leader of Shas’ party,” Seri said.
Netanyahu and Deri have not yet finalized their plans for the future following Wednesday’s ruling. Members of Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party wanted to press charges in court, though spokesmen said nothing about it.