Deri: ‘I’m glad court ruled as it did. Let the people see and judge’

Shas leader Aryeh Deri issues his first response to the High Court’s decision to disqualify him from serving as a minister.

“When I heard of the decision — not that it was unexpected — I was glad,” he says in a written statement. “There is nothing so happy as the removal of doubts.

“It’s good that they said their piece and it’s good that it ended as it did, with 10 against one. Let the people see and judge.”

Deri vows not to give in. “When they close the door on us, we’ll get in through the window. When they close the window we’ll break through the ceiling, with God’s help,” he says.

He thanks Netanyahu and ministers, rabbis and other dignitaries who came to his home to offer support.

Deri promises to “continue the revolution our predecessors began, with even greater devotion and energy.”