Netanyahu misses deadline

Israel’s president yesterday signalled he would move quickly to task a new candidate with forming a government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do so ahead of a midnight deadline. President Reuven Rivlin was to meet the two main candidates for forming a government – opposition leader Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, a former Netanyahu ally. Netanyahu failed to assemble a ruling coalition in the four weeks allotted to him, raising the possibility that his 12-year run as prime minister could soon come to an end.