With just hours to go before a set deadline, it's looking less and less likely Israel will form a new government. That means Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will either be replaced or, if he gets his way, Israel will head toward new elections in September.
Netanyahu, who faces a possible indictment on corruption charges, was recently re-elected to the post after tightly contested elections in April, but he has struggled to form a coalition government. The prime minister reportedly needs Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties to reach an agreement with ex-defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, a secular right-winger, over a military draft bill, which would increase the number of ultra-orthodox Jewish men conscripted into the army. The impasse has held up the formation of a coalition, and Haaretz reports both sides rejected Netanyahu's last-ditch effort to forge a deal, which means — barring a truly last-minute change of opinion — the government will not to come fruition.
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