Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to tell President Shimon Peres later on Saturday that he has finally formed a new government.

Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to tell President Shimon Peres later on Saturday that he has finally formed a new government.

Eleventh-hour agreements were signed on Friday after 40 days of negotiation with the centrist Yesh Atid and far-right Jewish Home parties.

Netanyahu is expected to meet Peres after on Saturday but the exact time has yet to be confirmed.
The premier had a legal deadline of Saturday evening to form a government or to admit defeat. Completion of the new line-up comes just days before a visit by US President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu had already signed a coalition deal with the centrist HaTnuah party of former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who is to be justice minister.

The new coalition, which will command a total of 68 seats in parliament, is expected to be sworn in on Monday. At the insistence of Yesh Atid it will be the first in 29 years to exclude ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Copies of the coalition agreements published by Netanyahu's Likud party said Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid would be finance minister and that his party, which has 19 seats in parliament, would also take the education, social services, health, and science and technology portfolios.

Jewish Home, which won 12 seats, receives a newly named economy and trade portfolio along with housing and pensioners' affairs.

Netanyahu is expected to handle foreign affairs temporarily, pending the conclusion of Lieberman's trial on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
The Likud is also to take charge of the defense and interior ministries, according to press reports.