Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has missed a midnight deadline for putting together a new coalition government.

His failure to reach an agreement raises the possibility that Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party could be pushed into the opposition for the first time in 12 years.

Mr Netanyahu has struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March 23 — when elections ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years.

Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Mr Netanyahu has not been able to close a deal during a four-week window.