Benjamin Netanyahu

About Benjamin Netanyahu

Who is Benjamin Netanyahu?

Benjamin Netanyahu is a former Prime Minister of Israel who served for a total of 15 years in office. He was the prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and then re-elected from 2009 to 2021 after Naftali Bennett ousted him from his reign. He presently serves as the chairman of the National Liberal Movement (Likud party) and Leader of the Opposition.

Benjamin Netanyahu: Before PM Office

Born in Tel Aviv and raised in Jerusalem, Netanyahu joined Israel defense after high school in 1967. He trained as a combat soldier and served for five years in the special forces unit.

Following this, he went onto study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Post his Master's, he returned to Israel and ran the Jonathan Netanyahu Anti-Terror Institute, a non-governmental organisation devoted to the study of terrorism. He was director of marketing for Rim Industries in Jerusalem for the next two years in 1982. From 1984 till 1988, Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.

Benjamin Netanyahu joins politics

Ahead of the 1988 legislative election, Netanyahu joined the Likud party in Israel. He was elected as a member of Parliament (Knesset) and was appointed as a deputy of foreign minister. During the Gulf War, Netanyahu became a principal spokesman for Israel and during the Madrid Conference, he was a member of the Israeli delegation headed by PM Yitzhak Shamir. He was appointed as Deputy Minister in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office after the conference.

Netanyahu's tenure as PM

In 1993, the Likud party held an election to select its leader, in which Netanyahu emerged victorious. He was the PM candidate in the 1996 Israeli legislative election and won the polls, becoming the youngest person in the country's history to hold that position.

Following this, Netanyahu went onto serve four more terms, the last being in 2020.

During his first term as PM, Netanyahu raised questions surrounding the Oslo Accords after a series of Hamas bombings. He was against concessions given to Palestinians as that only gave encouragement to extremist elements, without receiving any tangible gestures in return.

In 1996, he met Palestinian President Arafat for the first time and both agreed to work for the security at both sides. The talks ended with the signing of the Hebron Protocol in 1997, leading to the redeployment of Israeli forces in Hebron. The lack of progress led to new negotiations which resulted in the Wye River Memorandum in 1998. Signed by Netanyahu and Arafat, it emphasised no withdrawal from the Golan Heights, no discussion of the case of Jerusalem, no negotiations under any preconditions.

The PM also began taking steps towards a free-market economy. Under his leadership, the Likud-led government began selling its shares in banks and major state-run companies. He also eased strict foreign exchange controls, enabling Israelis to take an unrestricted amount of money out of the country and invest freely in other countries.

Netanyahu back in the Opposition

In 1999, Netanyahu was defeated in the election for Prime Minister, after which he retired temporarily from politics. In 2002, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Netanyahu as Foreign Minister.

As a finance minister, he undertook an economic plan to restore the economy from its low point during the Second Intifada, claiming that a bloated public sector and excessive regulations were responsible for poor economic growth.

Netanyahu's second inning as PM

During his second term, he endorsed a "Demilitarised Palestinian State" following US President Barack Obama's speech delegitimizing Israeli settlement in the Palestinian state. PM Netanyahu stated that he would accept such a state if Jerusalem stays the capital of Israel, the Palestinians would have no army, and that they would give up their demand for the right of return. The cabinet came up with the establishment of a working national unity government, and a consensus for a "two-state solution".

In 2013, he called for early elections and won the polls again. During this time, he continued his policy of economic liberalisation and approved the Business Concentration Law, which intended to open Israel's highly concentrated economy to competition.

In 2014, he showed deep concerns when Hamas and the Palestinian Authority formed a unity government. He blamed Hamas for the murder of three Israeli teenagers and launched a massive search and arrest operation on the West Bank.

His fourth term started in 2015 and in 2020, Netanyahu was sworn in for a fifth term as prime minister.

Netanyahu's government approved a two-year budget in 2015 that would see agricultural reforms and lowering of import duties.

In 2017, Netanyahu called for the death penalty to be imposed on the perpetrator of the 2017 Halamish stabbing attack, where 52 of 120 members of the Israeli parliament voted in favour.

In 2018, he accused Iran of not holding up its end of the nuclear deal, following which, the latter denounced Netanyahu's presentation as "propaganda".

End of Term

In 2020, extensive demonstrations broke out in the country against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and Netanyahu's criminal trial.

After tensions escalated in May 2021, as Hamas fired rockets on Israel from Gaza, Netanyahu initiated the Operation Guardian of the Walls. Post-operation, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett announced that along with Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid, they had formed a coalition rotation government, removing Netanyahu from his leadership on June 13, 2021.

Latest Updates on Benjamin Netanyahu

Israelis continue to protest legal overhaul despite suspension by Netanyahu

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against a controversial plan to revamp the country's legal system, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspension of the changes

Updated On: 02 Apr 2023 | 7:10 AM IST

Netanyahu supporters block Tel Aviv's main highway to support judicial plan

After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan

Updated On: 31 Mar 2023 | 8:44 AM IST

Netanyahu rejects Joe Biden's suggestion to pause judicial overhaul

Israeli PM Netanyahu rebuffed President Biden's suggestion that premier walks away from contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying country makes its own decisions

Updated On: 29 Mar 2023 | 11:24 PM IST

Israel PM Netanyahu delays judicial reform plan amid general strike

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to back down on controversial plans to overhaul the country's judiciary on Monday, amid unprecedented nationwide strikes

Updated On: 28 Mar 2023 | 10:27 PM IST

Israeli govt in chaos as judicial reform plans draw mass protests: Report

Israel faced one of the biggest waves of industrial action seen in years after the nation's largest union federation on Monday, Histadrut union, called for a general strike

Updated On: 27 Mar 2023 | 9:41 PM IST

Israeli president urges Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul amid protests

Israel's ceremonial president on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately halt a contentious overhaul of the judiciary

Updated On: 27 Mar 2023 | 11:38 AM IST

Israel PM Netanyahu fires defence minister, sparks protest across country

Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu's private home in Jerusalem

Updated On: 27 Mar 2023 | 7:17 AM IST

Israeli governance group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

An Israeli good governance group on Sunday asked the country's Supreme Court to punish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement

Updated On: 26 Mar 2023 | 5:42 PM IST

Israel's minister calls govt to halt judicial reform in jolt to Netanyahu

Israeli Defence Minister has called upon the govt to stop the controversial judicial overhaul legislation that has sparked protests, sticking his neck out amid PM Netanyahu's insistence

Updated On: 26 Mar 2023 | 12:19 PM IST

Israeli PM Netanyahu urges military chief to contain reservist protest

Starting Sunday, more than 700 elite officers from the Air Force, special forces, and Mossad said they would stop volunteering for duty

Updated On: 19 Mar 2023 | 5:51 PM IST

SVB bankruptcy created major crisis in tech industry: Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu said that he's been in touch with senior Israeli tech figures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States

Updated On: 12 Mar 2023 | 8:20 AM IST

Netanyahu wishes Modi, Indians on Holi; PM greets Israelis on Purim

May the vibrant colours of this festival fill your lives with happiness, joy, and prosperity, Netanyahu said

Updated On: 08 Mar 2023 | 11:39 PM IST

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu advances judicial changes despite uproar

Thousands of demonstrators were expected to gather outside the parliament, or Knesset, for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers prepared to hold an initial vote

Updated On: 20 Feb 2023 | 2:14 PM IST

Israelis protest judicial overhaul plans for 7th week in several cities

Netanyahu and his supporters, members of the most religious, right-wing government in the country's history, say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power

Updated On: 19 Feb 2023 | 6:55 AM IST

Israel PM Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

The boisterous demonstration outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu's program

Updated On: 14 Feb 2023 | 6:48 AM IST

Thousands march in Israel as Netanyahu allies push judicial overhaul

Thousands of Israelis protested outside the country's parliament on Monday ahead of a preliminary vote on a bill that would give politicians greater power over appointing judges.

Updated On: 13 Feb 2023 | 4:31 PM IST

Israel's president urges Netanyahu to delay legal overhaul, seek compromise

Israel's president appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a contentious plan to overhaul the country's judicial system and instead seek a compromise with his political opponents

Updated On: 13 Feb 2023 | 6:34 AM IST

Israelis protest PM Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul plans

The protest is the fifth against the new government, a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and far-right nationalist parties that took office in December

Updated On: 05 Feb 2023 | 6:57 AM IST

Premium

Inside the 19-hour meltdown that scuttled Adani Group's $2.5 bn share sale

Adani chose to forgo short-term victory of nailing the follow-on offer to protect his longer-term relationships with marquee investors who otherwise were staring at some embarrassing mark-to-market

Updated On: 04 Feb 2023 | 8:01 AM IST

Premium

Adani takes over Haifa Port for $1.15 bn, promises to invest more in Israel

Dwells on host of key partnerships in Jewish nation, such as Elbit Systems, Israel Weapon Systems, and Israel Innovation Authority; vows to change Haifa skyline with latest deal

Updated On: 31 Jan 2023 | 8:48 PM IST