Shas will quit the government should "a dangerous deal" with the Palestinians materialize, party chairman Eli Yishai stated Monday. "Shas will not be part of a government that will reduce the territory of the Jewish people's state and fill it with refugees," he told Ynet.

"The rabbi (Ovadia Yosef) said he would not lend his hand to another disengagement. We will not lend our hand to an attempt to hand over territory to Hamas," Yishai added.

"Handing over territories to Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) effectively means giving them to Hamas, as was the case in Gaza.

"It's clear that Abu Mazen is incapable in making peace within his people; how can he make peace with us?" Yishai asked rhetorically.

'Discussing Jerusalem is out of the question'

Yishai further warned that "the unrestrained pursuit of a virtual agreement would lead to deterioration in security." He said that should such a deal materialize, he would recommend to the Council of Torah Sages, which dictates the party's political course, to instruct Shas to leave the government.

"We support peace, Israel is a peace-seeking country, but those who cannot promote peace within their own people cannot make peace with us... as long as there's no peace there, there's no point to discuss borders, territories ad refugees, not to mention Jerusalem. Discussing Jerusalem is out of the question." 

Yishai refused to comment on the current investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, or talk about the power struggles that are unraveling within Kadima. "I don't plan to comment on Kadima's internal affairs. Each party has its own issues. We should wait and see how things develop.

"We wish him (Olmert) the best of luck; we don't gloat over anyone's misfortunes," he concluded.