Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid has informed the country's president that he has the numbers to form a new coalition government.
The move came barely half an hour before the Wednesday midnight deadline to form a government was to expire. Naftali Bennett, the leader of the small hardline Yamina party, will serve as the prime minister first, he said.
If the coalition passes the floor test, it will save Israelis their fifth election in just two years. It will also mark the end of Benjamin Netanyahu, who holds the record for being the longest-serving Israeli prime minister.
The proposed coalition is unique in the sense that it comprises not only political formations from the Left, Centre and Right but also an Arab nationalist party, a historic development not seen since the establishment of the Jewish state.