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Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu, born in 1949, is an Israeli politician and leader of the Likud party since 2005 (earlier 1993 to 1999).

Born
1949 (76 years), Tel Aviv
Party
Likud
Office
Prime Minister of Israel 2022–
Knesset member 2003–
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management
Website
netanyahu.org.il
Political position

Right · Where sources place this person
Wikipedia: right-wing, conservative
Ideology: conservatism, right-wing politics, Zionism

36%Probability · Prime Minister of Israel after the election?

1h change
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24h change
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1w change
▲3 pts
Voting day
(in 20 days)

He has been Prime Minister of Israel in 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021 and again since 2022, and has also served as foreign and finance minister and ambassador to the UN. He is the Likud's candidate for Prime Minister of Israel in the 2026 election.

Career

Netanyahu was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988 and has belonged to Likud since 1988. He chaired Likud from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005. He was Prime Minister from 1996 to 1999, Foreign Minister in 2002 to 2003 and 2012 to 2013, Finance Minister from 2003 to 2005, Prime Minister again from 2009 to 2021, and has led the government since 2022.

Offices held
  1. Prime Minister of Israel 1996–1999, 2009–2021, 2022–
  2. Knesset member 1988–1999, 2003–
  3. Leader of the Opposition 2006–2009, 2021–2022
  4. Minister of Communications 2014–2017
  5. Regional Development Minister of Israel 2015–2016
  6. Minister of Economy 2015–2016
  7. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel 2002–2003, 2012–2013
  8. Minister of Health 2009–2013

Source: Wikidata

Positions

Wikipedia describes him as right-wing and conservative. He opposes a Palestinian right of return, supports Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and calls for Jerusalem to remain Israel's united capital. He has said he would accept a demilitarised Palestinian state under conditions.

Controversies

Prosecutors indicted Netanyahu in 2019 in three cases: fraud and breach of trust, and bribery, over alleged regulatory favours to media owners for favourable coverage and over gifts from businessmen including Arnon Milchan and James Packer. NBC News reported in November 2025 that the trial had run five years without verdict. He denies the charges and calls them a witch hunt. On 30 November 2025 his lawyers asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon without admitting guilt. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza; his office rejected it as false.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · NBC News

Photo: Avi Ohayon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

  1. Benjamin Netanyahu 36%
100%50%0%

Nov 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Prime Minister of Israel after the election?

OutcomeLeft – RightAgeProbability
Gadi EizenkotCentre6647%
Benjamin NetanyahuRight7636%
Naftali BennettRight549%
Avigdor LiebermanRight682%
Ofer Winter551%
Itamar Ben GvirFar right501%
Yair GolanCentre-left64<1%
Yair LapidCentre62<1%
Yossi Cohen65<1%
Yoaz HendelCentre-right51<1%
Ayelet ShakedRight50<1%
Benny GantzCentre67<1%

All 19 outcomes

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