JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday lost an important vote on who could join a powerful committee in parliament and give him a setback as he tried to form a new government after a unconvincing election.
Netanyahu still has about two weeks to try to bring together a ruling coalition. The defeat in the vote indicated that the veteran leader still needs to find a way to secure a 120-seat majority in the Knesset.
The vote was to decide who would join the Organizing Committee, which controls the legislative agenda in the absence of a new government.
After a motion was rejected by Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud in a narrow vote, his rival, Yair Lapid, succeeded in giving his own proposal, representing the anti-Netanyahu bloc more strongly.
One small Islamic party that has openly spoken out in favor of collaborating with Netanyahu, making it a potential kingmaker, has agreed with Lapid.
President Reuven Rivlin asked Netanyahu to form a government on April 6 and gave him 28 days to do so. If unsuccessful, Netanyahu can ask Rivlin for a two-week adjournment before the president taps another candidate or asks parliament to appoint one.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Editing by Timothy Heritage)