The Knesset building in Jerusalem. PHOTO: James Emery.

Times of Israel – The ultra-Orthodox Shas party was first out of the gate overnight Monday-Tuesday to call for setting a date for new elections, following strong indications Monday night that Israelis were heading to the polls for the second time in two years.

Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri said overnight that the heads of all political parties must come together to agree “on the closest date possible” for new elections. He reiterated his conditions, first made publicly last week, for joining a future government  — the removal of a sales tax from basic household items, and regulating the minimum wage to be NIS 30 ($7.70) an hour.

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