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With 36 ministers and 16 deputy ministers, Netanyahu presents Israel's biggest government ever

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before the Knesset swearing-in ceremony, May 17, 2020.

More than a year after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an election - and three unprecedented ballots later - Israel finally swore in a new government Sunday.

Former rival turned partner Benny Gantz agreed to a power-sharing unity deal under the guise of an emergency government amid Israel’s coronavirus outbreak, adding to Netanyahu’s tenure as the country’s longest serving prime minister.

Despite petitions against the agreement, seeking to bar lawmakers with criminal changes from forming a government, the High Court greenlighted the deal, allowing Netanyahu to remain in office even as he faces trial for bribery, breach of trust and fraud.

As Israel’s deadlock comes to an end, can its deeply divided society heal from the years’ political wounds all the while grappling with the coronavirus pandemic?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials during the Knesset swearing-in ceremony, Jerusalem, May 17, 2020.

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Israel's 35th government

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arriving for a meeting with officials on the coronavirus crisis, February 25, 2020.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz with Supreme Court President Esther Hayut at the memorial ceremony for Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, September 19, 2019.

Israel's New Government Hasn't Been Sworn in Yet, but These Crises Could Spell Its End

Jonathan Lis | 16.05.2020

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, waves during a tour of the Baqura enclave formerly leased by Israel, Nov. 11, 2019

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Join Haaretz's Noa Landau on Zoom or Facebook live for a deep dive into the day's most-pressing issues

ZOOM WITH US: An Online Talk on Bibi's 5th Term, a New Mideast and China

Haaretz | 17.05.2020

Israel's new cabinet, May 2020.

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Yossi Verter | 16.05.2020

Netanyahu, center, and Edelstein, second from left, at a Likud convention in March

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Amos Harel | 14.05.2020

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