Shas Party spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was selected to lead the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) party by Council of Elders head Rabbi Moshe Maya, KAN News reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the decision came amid tensions between Yosef and Shas Party chairman MK Arye Deri, with Deri arriving at Yosef's residence to deliver the news in the form of a letter from Maya.
The report was unclear as to whether or not Yosef would be a member of Shas's slate for the Knesset.
KAN noted that Yosef has not ruled out a coalition with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar Party, and that such a partnership is possible if Yosef sets the tone.
Yosef and Deri further agreed during their meeting that Yosef would participate in the party's launch conference on Thursday, according to KAN.
The decision follows comments by Yosef in June in which he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that there is "no chance" he will "repent."
“We are in a secular country," said Yosef. "There are those whom I don’t believe will repent.”
"Eisenkot might repent,” he added,
Poll: Shas expected to win seven Knesset seats
Shas is expected to win seven seats in the upcoming October elections, according to a KAN poll published on Wednesday.
Yitzhak Goldknopf's United Torah Judaism (UTJ), another ultra-Orthodox party, would receive eight seats, the poll showed.
The results further showed that Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar leads Likud by one seat, emerging as the largest party with 24 seats following Monday’s Likud primaries.
Keshet Neev contributed to this report.