Haredi partners may abandon the Netanyahu bloc in favor of Eizenkot due to the yeshiva recruitment agreement.
While Gadi Eisenkot faces a tough deadline for forming Israel's next government, the Shas party is considering a political move, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The ultra-Orthodox-Sephardic party may be ready to support an Eizenkot-led government, and is reportedly waiting for the Torah Judaism (UTJ) faction, the ultra-Orthodox partner, to make the first move away from Netanyahu's bloc.
Torah Judaism may actually act as a political mediator, which would allow Shas to join or support an alternative government while maintaining its position among voters who support Netanyahu, the publication notes.
Several factors fuel Shas' caution:
The party estimates that about 100,000 of its voters are traditionalists and not distinctly ultra-Orthodox, which makes a sudden separation from Netanyahu a heavy political price.
Her latest electoral retreat. A decrease from 11 mandates to only 6 in the Knesset. left her reluctant to risk further losses by alienating supporters who remained loyal to Netanyahu.
A stable alternative government may allow Shas to present its participation as a forced response to circumstances rather than a deliberate change in allegiance.
The issue of recruiting for the IDF remains the main potential incentive.
After years of controversy surrounding the exemptions for yeshiva students, the regulation of their legal status may make participation in a government not headed by Netanyahu more acceptable within the ultra-Orthodox community.
However, the introduction of ultra-orthodox parties into an alternative coalition is expected to come with demands for the protection of religious restrictions, including opposition to public transportation on Shabbat and civil marriage.