Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to declare himself winner of last month's Israeli election, but he now has until Wednesday to appease an erstwhile ally, form a government and avoid a possible rematch.
The man at the center of the crisis in Netanyahu's coalition-building, former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, is sticking to his guns in a stalemate over military draft exemptions for Jewish seminary students.
The brinkmanship six weeks after the April 9 election poses another challenge to the decadelong reign of the right-wing leader some Israelis have hailed as "King Bibi" and deepens political uncertainty in a country riven with division.