Shas, UTJ pledge to support any hostage deal brought to a vote despite quitting government

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties announce that they will support any deal to bring back the hostages placed before the Knesset, saying that “there is no more important mitzvah than the ransoming of captives.”

“Despite the fact that we were forced to withdraw from the government due to repeated violations of agreements by our coalition partners, we are fully committed to our brothers and sisters, the captives in the tunnels in Gaza, both the living and the dead,” the Haredi factions declare in a joint statement.

“Therefore, the factions will provide support for any proposal for a hostage agreement that is brought to the government and the Knesset. There is no more important mitzvah than the ransoming of captives. We once again call on the prime minister to do everything in his power to return our kidnapped brothers and sisters, without exception, to their families as soon as possible.”

Earlier this month, UTJ quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s then-chairman, Yuli Edelstein. It was quickly followed by Shas, which, while quitting the government, has remained part of the coalition.