Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a bill to give the government more time to pass a budget, raising the likelihood that parliament will dissolve and force a fourth election in less than two years.  

Israel's coalition government - a broken marriage between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political ­rival, Defense Minister Benny Gantz - has been inching toward collapse for weeks. 

Under the current arrangement between Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Gantz's center-left Blue and White, the coalition has until one minute past midnight on Wednesday to agree a budget for the current year.

If a 2020 budget is not passed, ­Israel's 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, would dissolve, with new elections held as early as March. 

Gantz, a former army chief, has accused Netanyahu of refusing to approve a budget for personal political reasons. 

The three-year coalition deal stipulates that Netanyahu serves as premier for 18 months, with Gantz, currently the alternate prime minister, taking over in November 2021.

Gantz had insisted the coalition pass a budget covering both 2020 and 2021, arguing Israel needs stability after its worst ever political crisis and with its economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Netanyahu has refused to endorse a 2021 budget.

Late Sunday, Blue and White said it had reached an agreement with Likud on a bill to buy more time.

The bill would have pushed back the deadline for approving a 2020 budget to December 31. The government would then have had until January 5 to pass a 2021 budget.

Earlier Monday, there were indications the bill was poised to pass with support from Likud and Blue and White.

But later in the day Netanyahu and Gantz engaged in yet another war of words.

Netanyahu said Gantz had "decided to renege" on promises he made, accusing him of "dragging [Israel] to unnecessary elections in the midst of the coronavirus crisis."

Gantz insisted that he had presented Netanyahu with clear conditions to avoid another vote.