Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has announced he intends to resign his seat in the Knesset to make way for other party members. Deri, who serves as Interior Minister and Minister of Development of the Negev and Galilee, will retain both positions in the cabinet.
The hareidi-religious Sephardic politician is not the first to take this position, which became possible following the relatively recent passage of a law allowing ministers to retain their government posts while resigning as Knesset members.
The measures allows other party members to enter the government, thus strengthening the parties’ positions in the Knesset.