Naftali Bennett, the leader of the minor religious and nationalist Yamina party, and Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, announced their alliance.
Bennett said, “No one believes Netanyahu anymore.” “At this crucial juncture, I’m announcing my intention to establish a national unity administration alongside Lapid.”
Yesh Atid also announced Friday that it had reached agreements with Israel’s left-wing Meretz party, the New Hope party, a hard-line nationalist faction made up primarily of former Netanyahu allies, and the social-democratic Labour Party, which ruled the country for decades after its founding in 1948.
According to a statement from Yesh Atid, teams from both parties would meet in the evening to resume discussions to establish a unity government.
After the revelation, Netanyahu went on television to declare that Bennett should not be taken seriously because he simply wants to be prime minister and is “zigzagging.”
To constitute a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, at least 61 MPs are needed. On Wednesday, Lapid’s 28-day mandate to create a new government would have expired.
Bennett, a former defense minister, did not respond to the news.
The new coalition was formed just days after an 11-day battle between Israel and Hamas concluded in a cease-fire that left scores of civilians dead.
The violence erupted amid a leadership vacuum in Israel following a March election that produced no clear winner — the fourth in two years.
Netanyahu missed a deadline to form a new government coalition earlier this month, despite many discussions with his opponents and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party.
As opposition leader, Netanyahu is expected to stay at the helm of his Likud party.
During his extended career, he has become a polarising character in Israeli politics, upsetting a long list of erstwhile friends. In the past election, three parties were led by former senior advisers who had a falling out with him.
Israel’s Channel 12 claimed ahead of the announcement that the new administration might be sworn in as soon as June 8.
Paul Goldman and Yuliya Talmazan contributed reporting from Tel Aviv and London, respectively.