<span style="color: #222222;">In Israel, the party of former military chief Benny Gantz has pulled out of planned talks on forming a unity government with his main rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following deadlocked elections.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' <br />'' Representatives of the centrist Blue and White alliance were set to meet today with counterparts from Netanyahu's right-wing Likud, followed by a face-to-face encounter between the two rivals.<br />'' <br />'' But last night, following a two-day holiday to mark the Jewish New Year, Gantz's party announced it had cancelled the talks.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' <br />'' Since the deadlocked September 17 polls, Netanyahu has been scrambling to extend his run as Israel's longest-serving prime minister.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' <br />'' The embattled premier is also set today to begin pre-indictment hearings led by Israel's attorney general, who has said he intends to charge Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.<br />'' <br />''<br />''Netanyahu's lawyers are expected to attend the closed-door hearings, due to run four days, giving him a final chance to convince Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit he should not be indicted.</span><br />