Israel's Netanyahu seeks more time to form government

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Middle East envoy Tony Blair arrive for a meeting in Tel Aviv March 19, 2009.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's right-wing Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu will seek more time to form a government, an aide said on Thursday, so he can pursue efforts to persuade center-left Labor to join his coalition.

Under Israeli law Netanyahu has until April 3 to build a coalition, though he is obliged to report to President Shimon Peres 28 days after having received a mandate to form a government, which falls on Friday.

An aide to Likud party head Netanyahu said that though he had neared agreement with 61 of Israel's 120-member Parliament, he would ask Peres on Friday for an additional 14 days "because he wants to build as broad a coalition as possible."

Labor's leader, outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former military chief, has said he would ask the party's decision-making body for a mandate to join Netanyahu's government, which was expected to vote on the motion next week.

Joining Netanyahu's coalition could rescue Labor from threatened political obscurity.

Once Israel's dominant party, Labor came in fourth in a February election, winning just 13 seats. Likud won 27 and centrist Kadima of outgoing Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni polled 28 seats, while far-right Yisrael Beitenu won 15.

Barak said on Israel Radio on Thursday Netanyahu's offer "deserves to be considered." He suggested Labor could soften Netanyahu's hardline team and avoid conflict with U.S. efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

He also urged Livni to join in the talks. Livni has thus far rejected Netanyahu's overtures to join the coalition, telling her party this week she would not provide a "fig-leaf" for an ultra-right coalition that did not give priority to peace talks.

Netanyahu, a former prime minister, has said he wants to shift the focus of talks with Palestinians to economic development, a plan Palestinians have rejected. Labor and Kadima back negotiations for a two-state solution of the conflict.

Israeli media said Netanyahu has offered Labor five ministerial jobs, including having Barak stay on as defense minister.

But Labor faces a dilemma in that Netanyahu has pledged the job of foreign minister to far-right leader Avigdor Lieberman, whose anti-Arab remarks have stirred controversy. Several other rightist factions were also close to signing on with Netanyahu.

Half of Labor's lawmakers vowed after talks on Thursday to fight any bid to join ranks with Netanyahu, which the party's faction leader, Eitan Cabel, insisted in broadcast remarks would "spell death" for Labor's future. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; editing by Angus MacSwan)