Israel's opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he officially told the country's president that he has reached agreements with political allies to form a new government.

About 35 minutes before a Wednesday midnight deadline, the centrist Yair Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin in an email: "I am honoured to inform you that I have succeeded in forming a government."

Rivlin (above), attending Israel's soccer cup final at the time, congratulated Lapid by phone, according to his office...