TEL AVIV—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cemented a conservative and religious coalition that will let him remain Israel’s leader for a fourth term, but afford little room to safeguard his government’s survival. 
 
 In an unexpected epilogue to his Likud Party’s election landslide in March, the Israeli leader became embroiled in prolonged negotiations with coalition partners that were further complicated by a former ally’s desertion this week. 
 
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– It came down to the final hour, literally, but Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a deal to form a new government, reports AP. Netanyahu faced a deadline of midnight local time to scrape together a coalition following Likud's victory in the March elections, and he needed nearly every minute of that time. The late deal with the pro-settler Jewish Home Party is expected to give Netanyahu control of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset and thus "little margin for error," reports the Wall Street Journal. Details are skimpy at this point, but the New York Times reports that Netanyahu had to make major concessions and will end up with a coalition "that Israeli experts said was unlikely to last long or do much."