Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on Monday given a 14-day extension to form a new government as he struggles to build a coalition after four weeks of intensive talks.

Such a move is far from unusual in Israel where it is almost unheard of for a single party to win an outright majority, and lengthy negotiations with multiple potential coalition partners are the norm. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to make a formal request for extra time to piece together a new government, the president's office said Sunday.

After a surprise election victory, Netanyahu was on March 25 tasked by President Reuven Rivlin with forming the next government and given four weeks to do so. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding talks Friday with potential partners to form a coalition government, less than three weeks from a deadline to form a new cabinet.

Netanyahu was meeting separately with Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman, head of the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, and with Naftali Bennett, of the far-right Jewish Home.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tasked two weeks ago with forming Israel's next government, fell short Wednesday of striking a coalition with rightwing partners after reports emerged of talks with a center-left party.

Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party won Israel's March 17 election but without a majority, and President Reuven Rivlin gave him until April 22 to form a coalition, as stipulated by the law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday Iran should have to end its "aggression in the region" to win relief from sanctions, taking another swipe at a framework nuclear agreement.

World powers agreed with Iran last week on the framework of a deal to be signed by the end of June to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kept up his offensive against the framework nuclear deal with Iran on Tuesday, saying it fails to address Tehran's long-range missile arsenal.

"Why doesn't the framework address Iran's intercontinental ballistic missile program whose sole purpose is to carry nuclear payloads?" he asked on his official Twitter account.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday again denounced the agreement between Tehran and world powers as a "bad deal" that "endangers" Israel and will leave Iran with a large nuclear infrastructure.

An outline deal agreed in Switzerland on Thursday paves the way for Tehran to curtail its nuclear activity in exchange for relief from punishing economic sanctions. 

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that diplomacy was the best option to deal with Iran's contested nuclear program, two days after the conclusion of a framework agreement with Tehran.

Iran and six world powers determined the outlines of a landmark agreement which would curb Iran's nuclear program and potentially lift economic sanctions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist be written into an emerging nuclear deal, as he convened top officials for talks on Friday.  

After meeting his security cabinet, which comprises key ministers, National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen and other officials, he said they were unanimous in their opposition to the framework agreement which emerged Thursday from marathon talks in Switzerland between the Islamic republic and world powers.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that all options including military action were on the table in the face of the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Speaking to public radio as crunch talks on Iran's nuclear program continued in Switzerland, Steinitz said Israel would seek to counter any threat through diplomacy and intelligence but "if we have no choice we have no choice... the military option is on the table."