Netanyahu's rival leaders face midnight deadline to form new government

Rivals of Benjamin Netanyahu are up against a midnight Wednesday deadline to lock down a new government that would unseat Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

The camp led by the centrist Yair Lapid and the Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett appeared to edge closer to its goal after two additional parties lined up on Tuesday behind the emerging coalition, including the United Arab List. Lapid, who was handed the mandate to form Israel’s next government last month after Netanyahu failed, is scrambling to finalize agreements with additional partners to approach a parliamentary majority.