Benjamin Netanyahu has formally asked Israel’s president for more time to form the next government, his Likud party said. Netanyahu was given the first opportunity to form a government after November 1 elections gave him and his allies a majority of seats in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. By law he had 28 days after receiving the mandate on November 13 to form a coalition government. But he wrote in a letter to President Isaac Herzog on Thursday evening that although negotiations with his coalition partners are almost done, he needs an extra two weeks to finish.