Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed an 11th-hour deal to form a new coalition government, Israeli political sources say.

The reported deal, seven weeks after his Likud party won the election, came just before a final deadline for the formation of a government.

Mr Netanyahu needed backing from the right-wing Bayit Yehudi party to give him the necessary 61 seats.

An official announcement is expected shortly.

In the 67 years of its history, Israel has never known any form of government but multi-party coalition, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly, in Jerusalem.

No-one has ever won an outright parliamentary majority, but rarely can the process have come right down to the wire quite like this, he adds.

The leader of the religious nationalist Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party, Naftali Bennett, had demanded the justice ministry in return for support from his eight MPs.

Mr Netanyahu had already secured deals by late on Tuesday with three parties - the centrist Kulanu and two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas.

He now has a majority of just one in the 120-member parliament, the Knesset.

BBC