Netanyahu says he has succeeded in forming coalition gov't

JERUSALEM - Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday night that he has succeeded in forming a new coalition government.

"I have managed (to form a government)," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline.

In a separate statement, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party said that the veteran leader called President Isaac Herzog and informed the president that he has successfully formed a new government.

The Likud has yet to sign final coalition agreements with four of its five partners -- three extreme-right parties and two Jewish ultra-Orthodox parties. The new government needs to be sworn in by Jan 2, 2023, according to Israeli law.

Netanyahu has struggled for the past weeks to satisfy the demands of his coalition partners in exchange for their support.

The announcement marks the return to power of Israel's longest-serving leader, who was ousted only a year and a half ago.

Netanyahu's bloc won 64 of the Israeli parliament's 120 seats in the country's fifth elections in less than four years, which were held on Nov 1.