The negotiations between the Finance Ministry and the Israel Teachers Union (ITU) are expected to resume Monday morning at 10:30.
Moriah Zaguri, a member of the ITU management, expressed pessimism regarding whether the school year will begin as scheduled on September 1.
Speaking with Galei Tzahal Radio, Zaguri said, "The gaps between our request and the Finance Ministry's offer are still enormous. Their foot-dragging is what brought us to this point. They speak with us about tiny sums - it's like laughing at a poor person. Where was the Prime Minister until now? There's a collapse here."
On Sunday evening, ITU Secretary General Yaffa Ben-David told Kan News that, "If the Finance Ministry can add five billion shekel to its offer, then I think we will be able to start the year."
She added, "We will respect any decision that the court hands down, and we have what to say, and we are also prepared for there to be preventive orders."
When asked why the Finance Ministry's current offer of 4.2 billion is not enough, Ben-David explained, "What they told us in the plan is also not four billion. They also put in the 'summer schools' - that was not part of the wage agreement, and it already takes away 600 million shekel."
Meanwhile, sources close to Israel's interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid have expressed optimism regarding the possibility of avoiding a strike, since the disagreement is focused on just 800 million shekel.
Sources in the Finance Ministry, however, have said that the disagreement is not about the money, but about the vacation days and work conditions.
On the issue of orders preventing a strike, Lapid's office said, "We will not discuss preventive orders until the middle of the week."