Netanyahu's plea for Israeli unity gov't rejected

Israel's Labor Party leader declined an invitation Monday by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu to join his government, the second rejection in as many days in the hawkish leader's efforts to form a moderate coalition.

Netanyahu could piece together a right-wing coalition of right-wingers who take a hard line against territorial concessions to the Palestinians and have serious disputes among themselves on religious issues. But the Likud Party leader hopes to bring moderates like Labor's Ehud Barak and centrist leader Tzipi Livni into his coalition to win international support and a stable parliamentary majority.

Barak said after meeting Netanyahu that his dovish party will serve as a "responsible, serious and constructive opposition."

The night before, Livni said she and Netanyahu were still at odds over efforts to make peace with the Palestinians.

"We didn't reach any agreement. There are deep disagreements on this issue," she said. "This evening did not progress us on the core issues in a way that we can talk about a joint path."

Netanyahu said he and Livni found many points of agreement and their disagreement could be "overcome with goodwill." Continue reading the remaining 61% ...