Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu challenges rival Naftali Bennett's legality to head a new Israeli government but president says there is no legal merit to Likud's claim
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party has challenged the legality of a bid by a rival rightist to head a new Israeli government, but the last-gasp attempt at extending his leadership was rejected by President Reuven Rivlin.
They have until Wednesday midnight to present a final pact to Rivlin, who handed Lapid the task of forming a new government after Netanyahu failed to do so in the wake of a close election on March 23.In a letter to the legal counsels of the presidency and parliament, Netanyahu's conservative Likud said on Tuesday that Lapid was not authorised to cede the premiership to Bennett.
The Lapid-Bennett power-share may include other rightist politicians as well as liberal and centre-left parties. Israeli media have speculated it could also court parliamentary backing from a party that draws votes from Israel's Arab minority. Netanyahu, 71, is the dominant political figure of his generation. He was first elected prime minister in 1996 and he returned to power in 2009, holding the top office for more than a decade. But he also faces a corruption trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust - charges he denies.
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