May 14 (UPI) -- Israel delayed the swearing-in ceremony of the new unity government Thursday after a dispute in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party over the allocation of Cabinet positions.
Netanyahu was supposed to reveal the list of Cabinet ministers before the Thursday evening ceremony, but he asked for a delay. Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party agreed to the delay.
The ceremony is now scheduled to take place Sunday.
Netanyahu and Gantz agreed to a power-sharing arrangement in April after three national elections in which no one party had enough support to form a government. Under the agreement, Gantz will serve as Netanyahu's deputy for 18 months before taking over the position as prime minister.
The deal also includes a 32-minister Cabinet, which will grow to 36 ministers after six months, the largest Cabinet in Israel's history. On Wednesday, the Likud and Blue and White parties said they'd form an emergency Cabinet to address the coronavirus crisis.
On Thursday, Likud ministers disagreed with the Cabinet positions offered to them. They said outgoing Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who is the head of the Likud's negotiating team, didn't secure enough positions for the party.
"Those who flattered Netanyahu got jobs and those who are professionals and have done their job well have come up empty," an unnamed Likud minister told The Jerusalem Post.
Demonstrators opposing the new unity government protested outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday.