Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
בנימין נתניהו
	Official portrait, 2023
Prime Minister of Israel
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 29 December 2022
President	Isaac Herzog
Preceded by	Yair Lapid
	In office; 31 March 2009 – 13 June 2021
President	Shimon Peres ; Reuven Rivlin
Alternate	Benny Gantz (2020–21)
Preceded by	Ehud Olmert
Succeeded by	Naftali Bennett
	In office; 18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999
President	Ezer Weizman
Preceded by	Shimon Peres
Succeeded by	Ehud Barak
Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 28 June 2021 – 29 December 2022
Prime Minister	Naftali Bennett; Yair Lapid
Preceded by	Yair Lapid
Succeeded by	Yair Lapid
	In office; 16 January 2006 – 31 March 2009
Prime Minister	Ehud Olmert
Preceded by	Amir Peretz
Succeeded by	Tzipi Livni
	In office; 3 February 1993 – 18 June 1996
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Rabin; Shimon Peres
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Shimon Peres
Chairman of Likud
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 20 December 2005
Preceded by	Ariel Sharon
	In office; 3 February 1993 – 6 July 1999
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Ariel Sharon
Ministerial roles
Personal details
Born	21 October 1949 (aged 76); Tel Aviv, Israel
Political party	Likud
Spouse(s)	; Miriam Weizmann (m. 1972; div. 1978) ; Fleur Cates (m. 1981; div. 1984) ; Sara Ben-Artzi (m. 1991)
Children	3
Parents	Benzion Netanyahu; Tzila Segal;
Relatives	Nathan Mileikowsky (grandfather); Yonatan Netanyahu (brother); Iddo Netanyahu (brother); Elisha Netanyahu (uncle); Nathan Netanyahu (cousin);
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS); Harvard University (PhD, dropped out);
Occupation	Politician; diplomat; writer; economic consultant; marketing executive;
Cabinet	27; 32; 33; 34; 35;
Signature
Military service
Nickname(s)	Bibi
Branch/service	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1967–1973
Rank	Seren (Captain)
Unit	Sayeret Matkal
Battles/wars	War of Attrition; Yom Kippur War; Israel–Hamas war;

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (Hebrew: בנימין נתניהוcode: he is deprecated ;^[a] born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician. He is the prime minister of Israel since 2022. He was prime minister before from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021.^[4] He is chair of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, having served a total of over 17 years.^[5]^[6]

In October 2023, Israel was attacked by Hamas-led Palestinian groups, triggering the Israel–Hamas war. Netanyahu has been criticized for his role in not preventing the attack and then for his response to the attack.^[7]^[8]^[9] His government faced protests calling for his removal.^[10]^[11] Netanyahu's government has been accused of genocide and war crimes.^[12]^[13]^[14] In May 2024, the International Criminal Court announced their plans to apply for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and other members of his cabinet, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.^[15] In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu along with Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif.^[16]

Corruption charge

On February 28, 2019, Netanyahu was indicted on bribe and fraud charges in three different cases.^[17] If Netanyahu is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for bribery and a maximum of three years for fraud and breach of trust.^[18]^[19] He is the first sitting prime minister in Israel's history to be charged with a crime.^[20]

2020 election

Main page: 2020 Israeli legislative election

On April 20 April 2020, Opposition Leader Benny Gantz and Netanyahu announced an agreement on a unity government had been reached following the 2020 legislative election. The deal would involve both parties splitting power and Gantz and Netanyahu taking turns being prime minister. The deal said that Gantz would be Vice Prime Minister until October 2021, by then he would replace Netanyahu to become Prime Minister.^[21]

Fifth term

In May 2021, Hamas fired rockets on Israel from Gaza, which caused Netanyahu to act Operation Guardian of the Walls, lasting eleven days.^[22]

After the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis, Israeli politician and leader of the Yamina alliance Naftali Bennett announced that he has agreed to a deal with Yair Lapid to forge a coalition government that would remove Netanyahu from his Prime Minister position.^[23] This is after the 2021 March election.^[24]

Sixth term

Following the 2022 election, Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in again as Prime Minister, officially beginning his sixth term on 29 December 2022.^[25]^[26]

In early 2023, Netanyahu’s government introduced a series of proposed judicial reforms aimed at limiting the powers of the Supreme Court and increasing governmental influence over judicial appointments.^[27] The proposals prompted months of mass nationwide protests, with critics arguing that the changes would undermine the separation of powers and weaken Israeli democracy.^[28]

On 25 March 2023, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly called for the suspension of the reforms, warning that they threatened national security amid growing social divisions.^[29] Netanyahu dismissed Gallant the following day, triggering further protests and a political crisis.^[30] Shortly afterward, Netanyahu announced a delay in the legislative process to allow for dialogue with opposition parties.^[31]

In May 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Ahmad Khan, announced that he had applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Israel–Hamas war.^[32] On 21 November 2024, the ICC issued formal arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.^[33] Israel rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction and condemned the move as politically motivated.^[34]

Netanyahu has continued to face ongoing domestic corruption trials for alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which he denies.^[35]

Army career

Netanyahu was a captain in the Israel Defense Forces. He fought in the raid on Lebanon in 1968. He also fought in the raid on Jordan in 1968. His brother Yonatan (1946, New York City – 1976, Entebbe) commanded the special reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal.

Books and articles

Books:
Through the years Netanyahu authored six books, three of which focus on counter-terrorism. The books he wrote himself include:

International Terrorism: Challenge and Response (The Jonathon Institute, 1980) (ISBN 0-87855-894-2)
Terrorism: How the West Can Win (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1986) (ISBN 0-380-70321-1)
A Place Among the Nations (Bantam, 1993) (ISBN 0-553-08974-9)
Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism (Diane Pub Co, 1995) (ISBN 0-374-52497-1)
A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations (Warner Books, 2000) (ISBN 0-446-52306-2)
Bibi: My Story (Threshold Editions [Simon&Schuster], November, 2022)

Benjamin Netanyahu Media

1967 photograph of Netanyahu by the Israel Defense Forces
Benjamin Netanyahu at the grave of his brother Yoni Netanyahu, who was killed leading a counter-terrorist operation in 1976
Netanyahu (right) with Sorin Hershko, a soldier wounded and permanently paralyzed in Operation Entebbe, 2 July 1986
Netanyahu's first meeting with Palestinian president Yasser Arafat at the Erez crossing, 4 September 1996
Netanyahu with President Bill Clinton, King Hussein of Jordan and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in October 1996
Netanyahu sitting with U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat at the Wye River Memorandum, 1998
Netanyahu with his son Yair at the Western Wall in 1998
Netanyahu in a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev in Russia, 24 March 2011
Netanyahu with Yohanan Danino, appointed Israel's chief of police in 2011
Netanyahu, Hillary Clinton, George J. Mitchell and Mahmoud Abbas at the start of the direct talks, 2 September 2010
Video clip about Benjamin Netanyahu by Israel News Company