JERUSALEM, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to swiftly form a government faltered on Sunday as a prospective far-right coalition partner demanded the cabinet role of defence minister. But fissures have emerged between Likud and the powerful Religious Zionism party whose hard-line settler leaders oppose Palestinian statehood and want the occupied West Bank annexed - views in direct opposition to successive U.S. administrations. I hope this will be worked out soon," Likud lawmaker Miki Zohar told Kan radio, adding that defence was "the most important portfolio" for Likud. Even the finance role would present problems for Netanyahu, who had said before the election that Likud would keep the big three portfolios: defence, finance and foreign affairs. Whichever portfolio Religious Zionism lands, the incoming government looks to be the most right-wing in Israel's history, forcing Netanyahu into a diplomatic balancing act between his coalition and Western allies.

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