Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has abandoned efforts to woo centrist Tzipi Livni into forming a broad coalition government, a spokeswoman said on Saturday.
The decision, made after a second round of negotiations on Friday ended in disagreement, increased the likelihood that Netanyahu's Likud party would turn to rightist factions opposed to territorial withdrawals in peace talks with the Palestinians.
"The courtship is over. We are not scheduling any more talks with Kadima," a Netanyahu spokeswoman said. "If Livni wants to rethink her approach and contact us, she is welcome to."
