As talks intensify, Netanyahu mulls narrow coalition

Coalition talks shifted to high gear on Wednesday when Likud and Kulanu negotiators met to finalize the terms of their emerging coalition deal. Both sides appear poised to sign the deal as early as next week.

Netanyahu, who is about to exhaust the 28 days he had been allotted by the president for the coalition talks, is expected to arrive at the President's Residence on Tuesday to ask for more time. (Under the law, he may get another 14 days, at the president's discretion.) Netanyahu hopes to have at least one official coalition partner when he makes that request, and has indicated that if he fails to seal the deal with Kahlon, he could turn to the ultra-Orthodox parties -- Shas and United Torah Judaism.

After hammering out a deal with Kahlon and the haredim, Netanyahu would like to sign a coalition agreement with Habayit Hayehudi. Netanyahu will likely to hold more talks with Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett next week, after Independence Day. Bennett insists on becoming foreign minister, but Netanyahu is expected to offer him an economic portfolio or a combination of portfolios, and may even keep the Foreign Ministry for himself in the next government, if this issue remains unresolved. By keeping the Foreign Ministry to himself, Netanyahu would be able to keep it as a bargaining chip for future negotiations.

Meanwhile, Likud sources are preparing for the possibility that Netanyahu will present a 61-MK coalition that will comprise Likud, Kulanu, Habayit Hayehudi and the ultra-Orthodox parties. After the coalition is sworn in, Netanyahu could turn to Yisrael Beytenu or, alternatively, the Zionist Union. Complicating a potential deal with the Zionist Union (the Labor-Hatnuah joint list) is Labor leader Isaac Herzog's insistence on Tzipi Livni and her Hatnuah party being part of the government, something that Netanyahu adamantly opposes.

Meanwhile, the head of the Joint Arab List Ayman Odeh said Wednesday he had been invited to meet with Netanyahu, but that no date had been set. Later, Odeh attacked Netanyahu on Twitter, saying, "We want a real meeting, not just a meeting that is designed to serve as a PR stunt. Our first request is that the government cease all demolitions [of unauthorized homes in Arab communities] and recognize all the unrecognized villages [in the Negev]." He also told reporters that the government must start implementing a program to promote Arab equality in Israel without delay.