Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until May 7 to put together a government. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a two-week extension from President Reuven Rivlin to finalize negotiations over forming Israel’s next governing coalition.

“We have made considerable progress in the negotiations, but more time is necessary for us to form a stable government that would meet the challenges Israel faces,” Netanyahu said in a statement following a meeting with Rivlin.

Netanyahu has yet to secure signed agreements with any of his Likud party’s potential coalition partners. An Israeli coalition requires a minimum of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and Likud itself won 30 seats in last month’s election. Likud insiders said negotiations with the party’s natural partners were in full swing, and predicted that agreements with the Kulanu, Shas, and United Torah Judaism parties would be signed by the end of this week, Israel Hayom reported.