Jerusalem - Israeli politicians worked against the clock Tuesday to overcome final hurdles to building a coalition that would end the record rule of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, a secular centrist, and religious nationalist Naftali Bennett were locked in talks late into the night Monday on the terms of a “change alliance” to unseat the premier ahead of a Wednesday midnight deadline.
“The coalition negotiation team sat all night and made progress toward creating a unity government,” a Bennett spokesman said in a statement. He said Bennett, who heads the Yamina party, would meet Lapid -- leader of the Yesh Atid party -- again in the afternoon.
The discussions come as Israel’s longest serving premier is on trial on criminal charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust while in office, accusations he denies.
Former TV anchor Lapid inched closer to success Sunday when he and tech millionaire Bennett overcame their sharp political differences and publicly agreed to join a “national unity government” in which both would serve as premier, with Bennett going first.
Lapid was tasked with forming a government after Netanyahu failed to do so following Israel’s fourth inconclusive election in less than two years.