Israel's Netanyahu gets extra 14 days to form new government

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a two-week extension to form a new government.

On March 25, Netanyahu was tasked by Rivlin to form the next government and was given 28 days to do so, a deadline which will be reached this week.

Netanyahu, whose right-wing Likud party won the March 17 parliamentary elections, asked the president for additional time to reach a "stable coalition."

The request was not unusual in Israel, where no party has ever won an outright majority in a parliamentary elections.

Over the past month, Netanyahu held meetings with potential allies, including nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, trying to piece together a coalition of 67 members in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament.)

He tried also to cut deals with centrist, the economics-focused Kulanu party and ultra-Orthodox parties in an attempt to form a less hawkish government.

However, wide gaps have remained between the parties.

According to Israeli law, if Netanyahu fails to form a new government by May 6, the president can task a different political leader to do so. Endit