Netanyahu gets extra 10 days to complete coalition government formation

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday granted Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu an additional ten days to complete the formation of the right-wing coalition government, Israeli media reported.

The Times of Israel reported that Herzog was concerned that the coalition assembled by Netanyahu would be the most right-wing in Israeli history.

Herzog was also concerned that this could potentially damage Israel’s democratic checks and balances, breaching the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and alienating Jews overseas.

Netanyahu, whose mandate expires on Sunday, sent a letter to Herzog asking for the two-week extension given to him by law.

However, Herzog gave him only ten days. “These are complex days for Israeli society when disputes over fundamental issues threaten to tear apart and ignite violence and hatred,” Herzog wrote in a letter to Netanyahu.

According to Israel Hayom, Herzog also called for forming a government that represents the entire country and for a coalition that holds a respectful dialogue.

On Thursday, the Likud party said it had reached a coalition deal with Shas, making it the fifth party to join Netanyahu and giving him comfortable control of 64 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

“We have completed another step towards the formation of a right-wing government that will act to serve all of Israel’s citizens,” Netanyahu expressed in a Likud statement.

However, in his letter to Herzog, he wrote: “Some issues related to roles have yet to be agreed upon in coalition negotiations.”

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