ADDS BACKGROUND
By Said Amouri
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday officially tapped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new cabinet, according to reports in the Israeli media.
The move comes after Netanyahu’s relative victory in Israel’s April 9 general elections.
Rivlin gave Netanyahu a 28-day deadline for drawing up a new cabinet, which can be extended — if necessary — by a further 14 days.
If Netanyahu fails to form a government within the given period, Rivlin will nominate a member of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) to do so.
Netanyahu has secured the required Knesset support (56 members) to form the upcoming government.
The right-wing parties of Yisrael Beiteinu and United Right on Tuesday informed Rivlin of their recommendations to task Netanyahu with forming the Cabinet.
Last Wednesday, the Blue and White coalition — the main rival of the Netanyahu-led Likud party – conceded defeat in the general elections. The coalition captured the same number of seats won by Netanyahu’s party (35 seats each) but was backed by only 45 Knesset members.
