Right-wing religious parties sign fresh loyalty pledge to Netanyahu

Once again, right-wing religious parties allied with Likud sign a document reaffirming they’ll only back Prime Minister Netanyahu to form a government after the March 2 elections.

The letter is signed by Yamina, United Torah Judaism and Shas. It was initiated by Interior Minister leader Aryeh Deri, the head of Shas.

“We’ll only support Netanyahu. We are convinced that the right-wing bloc will succeed in getting 61 seats in the elections and assembling a national and strong government for the people of Israeli,” Channel 13 news quotes the letter as saying.

Following the September elections, the three parties together with Likud agreed to act as a single bloc of 55 MKs headed by Netanyahu. The bloc was a major stumbling block in coalition talks with the centrist Blue and White party, which had campaigned on forming a government without the religious parties.

Polls have consistently forecast that the right-wing parties will again come short of a majority in the upcoming elections, likely portending further political deadlock.