Likud הַלִּכּוּד
Leader	Benjamin Netanyahu
Founded	1973 (alliance) 1988 (unified party)
Headquarters	Metzudat Ze'ev 38 King George Street Tel Aviv, Israel
Ideology	Conservatism, National liberalism,[1] Zionism, Revisionist Zionism[2][3]
Political position	Center-right
Knesset	27 / 120
Election symbol
מחל
Website
www.likud.org.il
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

Likud (Hebrew: הַלִּכּוּד‎ HaLikud, lit. The Consolidation) is the major center-right political party in Israel.^[4][5][6][7] It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the Knesset election in 1992. Nevertheless, Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task to form a government after the 2009 elections. After a convincing win in the 2003 elections, Likud saw a major split in 2005, when Likud leader Ariel Sharon left the party to form the new Kadima party. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in 2006 elections. Following the 2009 elections, the party appears to have mostly recovered from its loss, and now leads the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu.

A member of the party is often called a Likudnik (Hebrew: לִכּוּדְנִיק‎).^[8]

History[link]

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Formation and Begin years[link]

The Likud was formed by an alliance of several right wing parties prior to the 1973 elections; Herut and the Liberal Party had been allied since 1965, and were joined by the Free Centre, the National List and the Movement for Greater Israel. It was given the name Likud, meaning "Consolidation", as it represented the consolidation of the right-wing in Israel.^[9] It worked as a coalition of its factions led by Menachem Begin's Herut until 1988 when the factions formally dissolved and Likud became a unitary political party. From its establishment in 1973, Likud enjoyed great support from blue-collar Sephardim who felt discriminated against by the ruling Alignment.

The first Likud prime minister was Menachem Begin, who had led the party to victory in the 1977 elections, the first time the left-wing had lost power in Israel's political history. A former leader of the hard-line paramilitary Irgun, Begin helped initiate the peace process with Egypt, which resulted in the Camp David Accords and the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Shamir, Netanyahu first term, and Sharon[link]

The second premier was Yitzhak Shamir, who first became PM in October 1983 following Begin's resignation. Shamir, a former commander of the Lehi underground, was widely seen as a hard-liner with an ideological commitment both to the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the growth of which he encouraged, and to the idea of aliyah, facilitating the mass immigration of Jews to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.

The third Likud premier was Benjamin Netanyahu, elected in May 1996, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu proved to be less hard-line in practice than he made himself out to be rhetorically, and felt pressured by the United States and others to enter negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasser Arafat, despite his harsh criticism of the Oslo accords and hawkish stance in comparison to Labour.

In 1998, Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to cede territory in the Wye River Memorandum. While accepted by many in the Likud, some Likud MKs, led by Benny Begin (Menachem Begin's son), Michael Kleiner and David Re'em, broke away and formed a new party, named Herut – The National Movement, in protest. Yitzhak Shamir (who had expressed harsh disappointment in Netanyahu's leadership), gave the new party his support. Less than a year afterward, Netanyahu's coalition collapsed, resulting in the 1999 election and Labour's Ehud Barak winning the premiership on a platform of immediate settlement of final status issues. Likud spent 1999-2001 on the opposition benches.

Barak's "all-or-nothing" strategy failed, however, and early elections for Prime Minister were called for March 2001. Surprisingly, Netanyahu declined to be the Likud candidate for Prime Minister, meaning that the fourth Likud premier would be Ariel Sharon. Sharon, unlike past Likud leaders, had been raised in a Labour Zionist environment and had long been seen as something of a maverick. In the face of the Second Intifada, Sharon pursued a varied set of policies, many of which were controversial even within the Likud. The final split came when Sharon announced his policy of unilateral disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank; the idea proved so divisive both on the Likud and the opposition Labour benches that Sharon announced the formation of a new party, Kadima, from the ranks of both Likud and Labour supporters of unilateral disengagement.

Kadima split[link]

Ariel Sharon's perceived leftward shift to the political center, especially in his execution of the Disengagement Plan, alienated him from some Likud supporters and fragmented the party. He faced several serious challenges to his authority shortly before his departure. The first was in March 2005, when he and Netanyahu proposed a budget plan which met fierce opposition, though it was eventually approved. The second was in September 2005, when Sharon's critics in Likud forced a vote on a proposal for an early leadership election, which was defeated by 52% to 48%. In October, Sharon's opponents within the Likud Knesset faction joined with the opposition to prevent the appointment of two of his associates to the Cabinet, demonstrating that Sharon had effectively lost control of the Knesset and that the 2006 budget was unlikely to pass.

The next month, Labor announced its withdrawal from Sharon's governing coalition following its election of the left wing Amir Peretz as leader. On 21 November 2005, Sharon announced he would be leaving Likud and forming a new centrist party, Kadima, and that elections would take place in early 2006. As of 21 November seven candidates had declared themselves as contenders to replace Sharon as leader: Netanyahu, Uzi Landau, Shaul Mofaz, Yisrael Katz, Silvan Shalom and Moshe Feiglin. Landau and Mofaz later withdrew, the former in favour of Netanyahu and the latter to join Kadima.

Netanyahu second term[link]

Netanyahu went on to win the Likud Party Chairman elections in December, obtaining 44.4% of the vote. Shalom came in a second with 33%, leading Netanyahu to guarantee him second place on the party's list of Knesset candidates. Shalom's perceived moderation on social and foreign-policy issues were considered to be an electoral asset. Observers noted that voter turnout in the elections was particularly low in comparison with past primaries, with less than 40 percent of the 128,000 party members casting ballots. There was much media focus on "far-right" candidate Moshe Feiglin achieving 12.4% of votes, who is the only candidate who aims to see Likud actually pursue the policies presented in its own official charter.

The founding of Kadima was a major challenge to the Likud's generation-long status as one of Israel's two major parties. Sharon's perceived centrist policies have drawn considerable popular support as reflected by public opinion polls. The Likud is now led by figures who oppose further unilateral evacuations, and its standing in the polls has suffered. After the founding of Kadima, Likud came to be seen as having more of a right-wing tendency than a moderate centre-right one. However there exist several parties in the knesset which are more right wing than the post-Ariel Sharon Likud.

Prior to the 2006 election the party's Central Committee relinquished control of selecting the Knesset list to the 'rank and file' members at Netanyahu's behest.^[10] The aim was to improve the party's reputation, as the central committee had gained a reputation for corruption.^[11]

In the election, the Likud vote collapsed in the face of the Kadima split. Other right-wing nationalist parties such as Yisrael Beiteinu gained votes, with Likud coming only fourth place in the popular vote, edging out Yisrael Beiteinu by only 116 votes. With only twelve seats, Likud was tied with the Shas for the status of third-largest party.

In the 2009 Israeli legislative election, Likud won 27 seats, a close second place finish to Kadima's 28 seats, and leading the other parties. After more than a month of coalition negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu was able to form a government and become Prime Minister.

A leadership election was to have been held on 31 January 2012 between Benjamin Netanyahu, Moshe Feiglin, and Vladimir Herczberg.

Ideological positions[link]

Charter[link]

Tzipi Hotovely described as the "ideological voice" of the Likud Party.^[12]

• The 1999 Likud charter emphasizes the right of settlement.

"The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting."^[13]

Similarly, they claim the Jordan River as the permanent eastern border to Israel and it also claims Jerusalem as belonging to Israel.

"Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of Israel. The government will flatly reject Palestinian proposals to divide Jerusalem, including the plan to divide the city presented to the Knesset by the Arab factions and supported by many members of Labor and Meretz."^[14]

• The 'Peace & Security' chapter of the 1999 Likud Party platform rejects a Palestinian state.

"The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river. The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters of foreign affairs, security, immigration and ecology, their activity shall be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel’s existence, security and national needs."^[13]

With Likud back in power, starting in 2009, Israeli foreign policy is still under review. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, in his "National Security" platform, neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea of a Palestinian state.^[15] "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land."^[16]

In June 2009 Netanyahu outlined his conditions for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, including the state being demilitarized, without an army or control of their airspace.^[17]

Economy[link]

The Likud party claims to support a free market capitalist and liberal agenda, though in practice it has mostly adopted mixed economic policies. Under the guidance of Finance minister and current party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud pushed through legislation reducing value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as customs duty. Likewise, it has instituted free trade (especially with the European Union and the United States) and dismantled certain monopolies (Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has privatized numerous government-owned companies, e.g. El Al and Bank Leumi, and has moved to privatize land in Israel, which until now has been held symbolically by the state in the name of the Jewish people. Netanyahu was the most ardent free-market Israeli finance minister to-date. He argued that Israel's largest labor union, the Histadrut, has so much power as to be capable of paralyzing the Israeli economy, and claimed that the main causes of unemployment are laziness and excessive benefits to the unemployed."^{[citation needed]} Under Netanyahu, Likud has and is likely to maintain a comparatively fiscally conservative economic stance, although it might be considered centrist or even progressive from a world view.^{[citation needed]} However, the party's economic policies vary widely among members, with some Likud MKs supporting leftist economic positions that are more in line with popular preferences.^[18]

Palestinians[link]

Likud has espoused opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, signed the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, which returned the Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli Prime Minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including United States Secretary of State James Baker) for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Netanyahu restated Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the Oslo Accords was largely accepted by the opposition Labor Party, even though the shape of any such state was not clear.

In 2002, during the Second Intifada, Israel's Likud-led government reoccupied Palestinian towns and refugee camps in the West Bank. In 2005 Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza. Though re-elected Prime Minister on a platform of no unilateral withdrawals, Sharon carried out the Gaza disengagement plan, withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and demolishing the Israeli settlements there, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank. Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.

Sharon and the faction who supported his disengagement proposals left the Likud party after the disengagement and created the new Kadima party. This new party supported unilateral disengagement from most of the West Bank and the fixing of borders by the Israeli West Bank barrier. The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.

Netanyahu, who was elected as the new leader of Likud after Kadima's creation, and Silvan Shalom, the runner-up, both supported the disengagement plan,^[19][20] however Netanyahu resigned his ministerial post before the plan was executed. Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.

Culture[link]

Zeev Jabotinsky

Likud promotes a revival of Jewish culture, in keeping with the principles of Revisionist Zionism.

Likud emphasizes such Israeli nationalist themes as the use of the Israeli flag and the victory in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Likud publicly endorses press freedom and promotion of private sector media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz 7 ("Channel 7"). Arutz 7 was popular with the Jewish settler movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective.

Historically, the Likud and its pre-1948 predecessor, the Revisionist movement advocated secular nationalism. However, the Likud's first Prime Minister and long-time leader Menahem Begin, though secular himself, cultivated a warm attitude to Jewish tradition and appreciation for traditionally religious Jews—especially from North Africa and the Middle East. This segment of the Israeli population first brought the Likud to power in 1977. Many Orthodox Israelis find the Likud a more congenial party than any other mainstream party.

Leaders[link]

• Menachem Begin, 1973–1983
• Yitzhak Shamir, 1983–1993
• Benjamin Netanyahu, 1993–1999
• Ariel Sharon, 1999–2005
• Benjamin Netanyahu, since 2005

Current MKs[link]

Likud currently has 27 Knesset members. They are listed below in the order that they appeared on the party's list for the 2009 elections.

Other prominent members[link]

Active:

• Moshe Feiglin (leader of the Manhigut Yehudit faction)
• David Levy

Past figures (deceased, retired or left Likud):

• Menachem Begin (1913–1992), former Prime Minister
• Geula Cohen
• Moshe Katsav, former President of Israel
• Michael Kleiner
• Uzi Landau
• Moshe Arens
• Tzipi Livni, former Foreign Minister and current Leader of the Opposition
• Shaul Mofaz, former Chief of the Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces and Minister of Transportation
• Ehud Olmert, former Mayor of Jerusalem and former Prime Minister of Israel
• Moshe Shamir (1921–2004), author and playwright
• Yitzhak Shamir, former Prime Minister of Israel
• Natan Sharansky, former Russian dissident
• Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister and Likud party leader (September 1999 - November 2005) now in a coma.
• Ezer Weizman (1924–2005), former President of Israel

See also[link]

• List of Likud Knesset Members

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Likud

• Official website (Hebrew)
• Likud on Facebook
• Likud Members News website (Hebrew)
• Likud Nederland (Dutch) (English)
• Likud Knesset website
• Likud - fact file at Ynetnews

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Benjamin Netanyahu בנימין נתניהו
Prime Minister of Israel
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 March 2009
President	Shimon Peres
Deputy	Silvan Shalom Moshe Ya'alon Shaul Mofaz
Preceded by	Ehud Olmert
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 March 2006 – 31 March 2009
Prime Minister	Ariel Sharon Ehud Olmert
Preceded by	Amir Peretz
Succeeded by	Tzipi Livni
Minister of Finance
In office 28 February 2003 – 9 August 2005
Prime Minister	Ariel Sharon
Preceded by	Silvan Shalom
Succeeded by	Ehud Olmert
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 6 November 2002 – 28 February 2003
Prime Minister	Ariel Sharon
Preceded by	Shimon Peres
Succeeded by	Silvan Shalom
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 26 December 1988 – 11 November 1991
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Shamir
Minister	Moshe Arens Moshe Arens
Preceded by	Roni Milo
Succeeded by	Yossi Beilin
Personal details
Born	(1949-10-21) 21 October 1949 (age 62) Tel Aviv, Israel
Political party	Likud
Spouse(s)	Miriam Weizmann (Until 1978) Fleur Cates (1981–1984) Sara Ben-Artzi (1991–present)
Relations	Benzion Netanyahu (father, deceased)
Children	3
Residence	Jerusalem
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.) MIT Sloan School of Management (M.S.)
Religion	Judaism
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Israel
Service/branch	Israel Defence Forces
Years of service	1967 - 1973
Rank	Captain
Unit	Sayeret Matkal
Battles/wars	War of Attrition Yom Kippur War

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין "בִּיבִּי" נְתַנְיָהוּ (help·info); born 21 October 1949) is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.

Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister born in Israel after the founding of the state. Netanyahu joined the Israeli Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War, and became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit. He took part in many missions, including Operation Gift and Operation Isotope, during which he was shot in the shoulder. He fought on the front lines in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal, and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory.^[1] He achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, member of the Likud Party, and was Prime Minister from June 1996 to July 1999.

Netanyahu withdrew from politics after losing the 1999 election for Prime Minister to Ehud Barak. In 2002 he returned as Foreign Minister (2002–03) and Finance Minister (2003 – August 2005) in Ariel Sharon's governments, but he departed over disagreements regarding the Gaza Disengagement Plan. He retook the Likud leadership on 20 December 2005, after Sharon left to form a new party.^[2] In the 2006 election, Likud did poorly, winning 12 seats.^[3] In December 2006, Netanyahu became the official Opposition Leader in the Knesset and Chairman of the Likud Party. In August 2007, he retained the Likud leadership by beating Moshe Feiglin in party elections.^[4] Following the 10 February 2009 parliamentary election, in which Likud placed second and right-wing parties won a majority,^[5] Netanyahu formed a coalition government.^[6][7]

His brother, Israeli Special Forces commander Yonatan Netanyahu, died in 1976 while commanding a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission. Another brother, Iddo Netanyahu, is an Israeli playwright.

Biography[link]

Early life, military service, education, and early public career[link]

Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv to Zila (née Segal; 1912–2000) and professor Benzion Netanyahu (1910-2012), the middle of three children. He was initially raised and educated in Jerusalem. Between 1956 and 1958, and again in 1963–67,^[8] his family lived in the United States in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he attended and graduated from the Cheltenham High School and was active in a debate club. To this day, he speaks American English with a Philadelphia accent.^[9]

After graduating from high school in 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel to enlist in the IDF. He trained as a combat soldier and became a team leader in an elite special forces unit of the IDF, Sayeret Matkal. He was involved in many missions, including the rescue of the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 in May 1972 in which he was wounded by friendly fire.^[10] He took part in numerous cross-border assault raids during the War of Attrition. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he fought in special forces raids along the Suez Canal, and then led a commando team deep into Syrian territory.

After his army service Netanyahu returned to the United States, studied and earned a B.S. degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology^[11] in 1975, an M.S. degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1977. At that time he changed his name to Benjamin Ben Nitai (Nitai, a reference to both Mount Nitai and to the eponymous Jewish sage Nittai of Arbela, was a pen name often used by his father for articles).^[9] Years later, in an interview with the media, Netanyahu clarified that he decided to do so to make it easier for Americans to pronounce his name. This fact has been used by his political rivals to accuse him indirectly of a lack of Israeli national identity and loyalty.^[12]

In 1976 Netanyahu lost his older brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who served as the commander of the elite Israeli army commando unit Sayeret Matkal and was killed in action during the counter-terrorism hostage-rescue mission Operation Entebbe in which his unit rescued more than 100 hostages hijacked and flown to the Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

While studying, Netanyahu worked at the Boston Consulting Group in Boston, Massachusetts.^[13]

After graduating in 1977 Netanyahu returned to Israel and had a brief career as a furniture company's chief marketing officer. In addition between 1978 and 1980 he formed the Jonathan Netanyahu anti-Terror Institute,^[8] a non-governmental organization devoted to the study of terrorism, which conducted a number of international conferences about terrorism. During this period Netanyahu made his first connections with several Israeli politicians, including Minister Moshe Arens, who appointed him as his Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., a position he held from 1982 until 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1984 and 1988 Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, he was voted the 18th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[14] In 2010, the British magazine New Statesman listed Netanyahu at 11th on the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".^[15]

Early political career: 1988–96[link]

Prior to the 1988 Israeli legislative election Netanyahu returned to Israel and joined the Likud party. In the internal elections in the Likud center Netanyahu became the fifth place on the list. Later on he was elected to as a Knesset member of the 12th Knesset, and was appointed as a deputy of the foreign minister Moshe Arens, and later on David Levy. Netanyahu and Levy did not cooperate and the rivalry between the two only intensified afterwards. During the Madrid Conference of 1991 Netanyahu was among members the Israeli delegation headed by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. After the Madrid Conference Netanyahu was appointed as Deputy Minister in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.^{[citation needed]}

Following the defeat of the Likud party in the 1992 Israeli legislative elections the Likud party held a primary election in 1993 to select its leader, and Netanyahu was victorious, defeating Benny Begin, son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and veteran politician David Levy^[16] (Sharon initially sought Likud party leadership as well, but quickly withdrew when it was evident that he was attracting minimal support). Shamir retired from politics shortly after the Likud's defeat in the 1992 elections.^{[citation needed]}

Following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his temporary successor Shimon Peres decided to call early elections in order to give the government a mandate to advance the peace process.^[17] Netanyahu was the Likud's candidate for Prime Minister in the 1996 Israeli legislative election which took place on 26 May 1996 and were the first Israeli elections in which Israelis elected their Prime Minister directly. Netanyahu hired American Republican political operative Arthur Finkelstein to run his campaign, and although the American style of sound bites and sharp attacks elicited harsh criticism from inside Israel, it proved effective. (The method was later copied by Ehud Barak during the 1999 election campaign in which he beat Netanyahu.) Netanyahu won the election, becoming the youngest person in the history of the position and the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born in the State of Israel.^{[citation needed]} (Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem, under the British Mandate of Palestine, prior to the 1948 founding of the Israeli state).

Netanyahu's victory over the pre-election favorite Shimon Peres surprised many. The main catalyst in the downfall of the latter was a wave of suicide bombings shortly before the elections; on 3 and 4 March 1996, Palestinians carried out two suicide bombings, killing 32 Israelis, with Peres seemingly unable to stop the attacks. Unlike Peres, Netanyahu did not trust Yasser Arafat and conditioned any progress at the peace process on the Palestinian National Authority fulfilling its obligations – mainly fighting terrorism, and ran with the campaign slogan "Netanyahu – making a safe peace". However, although Netanyahu won the election for Prime Minister, Labor won the Knesset elections, beating the Likud–Gesher–Tzomet alliance, meaning Netanyahu had to rely on a coalition with the Ultra-orthodox parties, Shas and UTJ (whose social welfare policies flew in the face of his capitalistic outlook) in order to govern.^{[citation needed]}

First Prime Ministership: 1996–99[link]

Netanyahu with Yasser Arafat and Nabil Shaath at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 1997

Netanyahu sitting with Madeleine Albright and Yassir Arafat at the Wye River Memorandum

A spate of suicide bombings reinforced the Likud position for security. Hamas claimed responsibility for most of the bombings.

As Prime Minister Netanyahu raised many questions about many central premises of the Oslo peace process. One of his main points was disagreement with the Oslo premise that the negotiations should proceed in stages, meaning that concessions should be made to Palestinians before any resolution was reached on major issues, such as the status of Jerusalem, and the amending of the Palestinian National Charter. Oslo supporters had claimed that the multi-stage approach would build goodwill among Palestinians and would propel them to seek reconciliation when these major issues were raised in later stages. Netanyahu said that these concessions only gave encouragement to extremist elements, without receiving any tangible gestures in return. He called for tangible gestures of Palestinian goodwill in return for Israeli concessions. Despite his stated differences with the Oslo Accords, Prime Minister Netanyahu continued their implementation, but his Prime Ministership saw a marked slow-down in the Peace Process.

In 1996, Netanyahu and Jerusalem's mayor Ehud Olmert decided to open an exit in the Arab Quarter for the Western Wall Tunnel, which prior Prime Minister Shimon Peres had instructed to be put on hold for the sake of peace.^[18] This sparked three days of rioting by Palestinians, resulting in both Israelis and Palestinians being killed.^[19]

In January 1997 Netanyahu signed the Hebron Protocol with the Palestinian Authority which resulted in the redeployment of Israeli forces in Hebron and the turnover of civilian authority in much of the area to the Palestinian Authority.

Eventually, the lack of progress of the peace process led to new negotiations which produced the Wye River Memorandum in 1998 which detailed the steps to be taken by the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority to implement the earlier Interim Agreement of 1995. It was signed by Netanyahu and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, and on 17 November 1998, Israel's 120 member parliament, the Knesset, approved the Wye River Memorandum by a vote of 75–19.

As Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized a policy of "three no(s)": no withdrawal from the Golan Heights, no discussion of the case of Jerusalem, no negotiations under any preconditions.^[20]

Netanyahu was opposed by the political left wing in Israel and also lost support from the right because of his concessions to the Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere, and due to his negotiations with Arafat generally. Netanyahu lost favor with the Israeli public after a long chain of scandals involving his marriage and corruption charges. In 1997, police recommended that Netanyahu be indicted on corruption charges for influence-peddling. He was accused of appointing an attorney general who would reduce the charges and prosecutors ruled that there was insufficient evidence to go to trial.^[21] In 1999, Netanyahu faced another scandal when the Israel Police recommended that he be tried for corruption for $100,000 in free services from a government contractor; Israel's attorney general did not prosecute, citing difficulties with evidence.^[22]

After being defeated by Ehud Barak in the 1999 election for Prime Minister, Netanyahu temporarily retired from politics.^[23]

Political downturn and recovery: 2000–03[link]

Benjamin Netanyahu with Vladimir Putin at the Jewish Community Centre in Moscow, Russia, December 2000

With the fall of the Barak government in late 2000, Netanyahu expressed his desire to return to politics. By law, Barak's resignation was supposed to lead to elections for the prime minister position only. Netanyahu insisted that general elections should be held, claiming that otherwise it would be impossible to have a stable government. Netanyahu decided eventually not to run for the prime minister position, a move which facilitated the surprising rise to power of Ariel Sharon, who at the time was considered less popular than Netanyahu.

In 2002, after the Israeli Labor Party left the coalition and vacated the position of foreign minister, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Netanyahu as Foreign Minister.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 September 2002, a scheduled speech by Netanyahu at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada was canceled after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters overwhelmed security and smashed through a glass window. Netanyahu was not present at the protest, having remained at Montreal's Ritz-Carlton Hotel throughout the duration. He later accused the activists of supporting terrorism and "mad zealotry."^[24]

Netanyahu challenged Sharon for the leadership of the Likud party, but failed to oust Sharon.^[25]

Finance Minister: 2003–05[link]

Benjamin Netanyahu, 2003

After the 2003 Israeli legislative election, in what many observers regarded as a surprise move, Sharon offered the Foreign Ministry to Silvan Shalom and offered Netanyahu the Finance Ministry. Some pundits speculated that Sharon made the move because he deemed Netanyahu a political threat given his demonstrated effectiveness as Foreign Minister, and that by placing him in the Finance Ministry during a time of economic uncertainty, he could diminish Netanyahu's popularity. Netanyahu accepted the new appointment after Sharon agreed to provide him with an unprecedented level of independence in running the ministry.^{[citation needed]}

As Finance Minister, Netanyahu undertook an economic plan in order to restore Israel's economy from its low point during the al-Aqsa Intifada. The plan involved a move toward more liberalized markets, although it was not without its critics. Netanyahu succeeded in passing several long-unresolved reforms, including an important reform in the banking system.^[26] However, opponents in the Labor party (and even a few within his own Likud) viewed Netanyahu's policies as "Thatcherite" attacks on the venerated Israeli social safety net.^[27]

Netanyahu threatened to resign in 2004 unless the Gaza pullout plan was put to a referendum, but later lifted the ultimatum and voted for the programme in the Knesset.^[28] He submitted his resignation letter on 7 August 2005, shortly before the Israeli cabinet voted 17 to 5 to approve the initial phase of withdrawal from Gaza.^[29] Shortly thereafter he said he had rejected an invitation to serve as Italy's finance minister,^[30] allegedly extended to him by Italian billionaire businessman Carlo De Benedetti, who later said it was a joke.^[31]

Likud leader and opposition leader: 2005–09[link]

Following the withdrawal of Sharon from the Likud, Netanyahu was one of several candidates who vied for the Likud leadership. His most recent attempt prior to this was in September 2005 when he had tried to hold early primaries for the position of the head of the Likud party, while the party held the office of Prime Minister – thus effectively pushing Ariel Sharon out of office. The party rejected this initiative. Netanyahu retook the leadership on 20 December 2005, with 47% of the primary vote.^[2] In the March 2006 Knesset elections, Likud took the third place behind Kadima and Labor and Netanyahu served as Leader of the Opposition.^[3]

On 14 August 2007, Netanyahu was reelected as chairman of the Likud and its candidate for the post of Prime Minister with 73% of the vote, against far-right candidate Moshe Feiglin and World Likud Chairman Danny Danon.^[4] He opposed the 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire, like others in the Knesset opposition. Specifically, Netanyahu said, "This is not a relaxation, it's an Israeli agreement to the rearming of Hamas... What are we getting for this?"^[32]

Following Livni's election to head Kadima and Olmert's resignation from the post of Prime Minister, Netanyahu declined to join the coalition Livni was trying to form and supported new elections, which were held in February 2009.^[33][34]

Netanyahu campaign posters around Jerusalem. The caption reads HaLikud or The Consolidation. On the right-hand side slogans are written in Russian for immigrants from former USSR.

Netanyahu was the Likud's candidate for Prime Minister in the 2009 Israeli legislative election which took place on 10 February 2009, as Tzipi Livni, the previous Designated Acting Prime Minister under the Olmert government, had been unable to form a viable governing coalition. Opinion polls showed Likud in the lead, but with as many as a third of Israeli voters undecided.^[35]

In the election itself, Likud won the second highest number of seats, Livni's party having outnumbered the Likud by one seat. A possible explanation for Likud's relatively poor showing is that some Likud supporters defected to Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. Netanyahu, however, claimed victory on the basis that right wing parties won the majority of the vote, and on 20 February 2009, Netanyahu was designated by Israeli President Shimon Peres to succeed Ehud Olmert as Prime Minister, and began his negotiations to form a coalition government.

Despite right wing parties winning a majority of 65 seats in the Knesset, Netanyahu preferred a broader centrist coalition and turned to his Kadima rivals, chaired by Tzipi Livni, to join his government. This time it was Livni's turn to decline to join, with a difference of opinion on how to pursue the peace process being the stumbling block. Netanyahu did manage to entice a smaller rival, the Labour party, chaired by Ehud Barak, to join his government, giving him a certain amount of centrist tone.

Netayahu presented his cabinet for a Knesset "Vote of Confidence" on 31 March 2009. The 32nd Government was approved that day by a majority of 69 lawmakers to 45 (with five abstaining) and the members were sworn in.^[6][7]

Second Prime Ministership: 2009–present[link]

This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material while citing sources as needed.

Barack Obama and Netanyahu in the Oval Office, 18 May 2009

In March 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Israel.^[36] She warned that Israeli settlements and demolition of Arab homes in East Jerusalem were "unhelpful" to the peace process.^[37] Clinton also voiced support for the establishment of a Palestinian state—a solution not endorsed by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu,^[38] with whom she had earlier pledged the United States' cooperation.^[39] Upon the arrival of President Obama administration's special envoy, George Mitchell, Netanyahu said that any furtherance of negotiations with the Palestinians will be conditioned on the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state,^[40] as this issue had not been sufficiently clarified.

During a 19 May 2009 meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House, Obama said a two state solution was a priority and called for settlement growth to be frozen, while Netanyahu refused to support the creation of a Palestinian state and stated that Israel has the right to continue settlements.

Netanyahu with Dmitry Medvedev, Russia

During President Obama's Cairo speech on 4 June 2009 in which Obama addressed the Muslim world, Obama stated, among other things, that "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements". "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." Following Obama's Cairo speech Netanyahu immediately called a special government meeting. On 14 June, ten days after Obama's Cairo speech, Netanyahu gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which he endorsed a "Demilitarized Palestinian State", though said that Jerusalem must remain the unified capital of Israel.^[41] The speech was widely seen as a response to Obama's speech.^[42] In a rejoinder to Obama's mentioning of the founding of Israel in the context of the Holocaust, Netanyahu remarked, "[t]here are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the State of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the State of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occurred."^[43] Netanyahu stated that he would accept a Palestinian state if Jerusalem were to remain the united capital of Israel, the Palestinians would have no army, and the Palestinians would give up their demand for a right of return. He also argued the right for a "natural growth" in the existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank while their permanent status is up to further negotiation. The address represented a renewal in Netanyahu's willingness to appeal for Palestinian leadership to accept peace.^{[44][better source needed]} The overture was quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders such as Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, who called the speech "racist".^[42]

Three months after starting his term, Netanyahu remarked that his cabinet already had achieved several notable successes, such as the establishment of a working national unity government, and a broad consensus for a "Two-state solution".^[45] The Kadima-led opposition submitted a no-confidence measure to the Knesset shortly after Netanyahu concluded his first 100 days in office.^[46] A July 2009 survey by Ha'aretz found that most Israelis support the Netanyahu government, giving him a personal approval rating of about 49 percent,^[47] a spike from 28 percent prior to his Bar-Ilan speech.

As part of his "economic peace", to boost the Palestinian economy, while insisting not a substitute to political negotiations, Netanyahu has lifted checkpoints in the West Bank, in order to allow freedom of movement and a flow of imports as a "highway to peace", a step that resulted in an economic boost in the West Bank.^[48][49][50]

On 23 July 2009, Netanyahu welcomed the Arab Peace initiative (also known as the "Saudi Peace Initiative"), stating that "The Arab initiative provides a tailwind to the Peace Process", and also lauded a call by Bahrain's Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to normalize relations with Israel.^[51][52] On 31 July, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud El Faisal, at a press conference with U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected the U.S pressure on Arab states to make gestures toward normalizing ties with Israel as "confidence-building" measures, stating that "'step-by-step' diplomatic approach, have not and will not lead to peace", and that "temporary security arrangement as well, so-called 'confidence-building' measures will not lead to peace either." He added that a comprehensive approach is needed in order to tackle the core issues of the conflict, that include "The future of the Palestinian State, control over Jerusalem, the return of the refugees to their country, and water and security arrangements". He also argued that Israel was diverting attention "From the occupation that had began on 1967, and the establishment of a Palestinian State, towards secondary issues, such as flying methods (referring to one of the gestures) and academic arguments, and said that "It is time all the inhabitants of the Middle East will live a normal life".^[53]

On 10 August 2009, Netanyahu warned that "If Hezbollah will enter the (Lebanese) government as an official factor, let it be clear that the Lebanese government will be held responsible for any attack carried out from its territory. Once they [Hezbullah] are part of the government, the sovereign government of Lebanon is the one responsible. I hope we will not be forced to make such responses".^[54] However, he maintained his assessment that "There are no 'winds of war' brewing in the North" the next day.^[55]

On 23 August 2009, Netanyahu announced in his weekly cabinet meeting that negotiations with the Palestinians will begin in September and will be officially launched on his visit to New York, after he had accepted an invitation from President Barack Obama for a "Triple Summit" there.^[56] He added that there is progress with special envoy George Mitchell, though there is no full agreement on everything,^[57] and there will be more rounds of meetings [until September].^[58] On the same day, a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas said he refused to participate in peace negotiations as long as there was any building going on in settlements.^[59]

On 26 August 2009, Netanyahu and special envoy George Mitchell met, in what was perceived as a critical meeting towards an understanding on a settlement freeze between Israel and the U.S, in which they reaffirmed in a joint statement the need for a meaningful negotiation between the Israelis and Palestinians that will lead to a comprehensive peace agreement, and Abbas declared the same day that he will be willing to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the U.N General Assembly, where Netanyahu had accepted president Obama's invitation for a "triple summit", although he said it would not necessarily lead to negotiations.^[60] Netanyahu was reported to be in a pivotal moment over these understandings, that were reported to include a compromise over permission on continuing the already approved construction in the West Bank, in exchange for freezing all settlements thereafter, as well as continuing building in East Jerusalem, and at the same time stopping the demolition of houses of Arab inhabitants there.^[61] It was also reported that the U.S Administration was planning a "modest" summit with a principle declaration and stiff timetable, rather than a "Grand Plan".^[61]

On 4 September 2009, it was reported that Netanyahu was to agree to settlers' political demands to approve more settlement constructions before a temporary settlement freeze agreement took place.^[62] White House spokesman Robert Gibbs expressed "regret" over the move;^[63] however, one U.S official said the move will not "derail [the] train".^[64]

On 7 September 2009, Netanyahu left his office without reporting where he was headed, his schedule was mysteriously cleared, and his whereabouts were unknown for a several hours. The prime minister's military secretary, Maj. Gen. Meir Kalifi, later reported Netanyahu had visited a security facility in Israel.^[65] At the same time, a Palestinian newspaper reported that Netanyahu had left for a visit in an Arab state that does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.^[66] On 9 September 2009, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli leader had made a secret flight to Moscow to try to persuade Russian officials not to sell S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran.^[65][67][68] The report caused a local media storm, with angry journalists accusing Netanyahu’s office of lying. Headlines branded Netanyahu a "liar" and dubbed the affair a "fiasco."^[69][70] It was later reported that the PM's military secretary will be dismissed due to the affair.^[71] The Sunday Times reported that the trip was made to share the names of Russian scientists that Israel believes are abetting the Iranian nuclear weapons program.^[72]

On 16 September 2009, special envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel for one of his last rounds before a triple summit at the U.N. between President Obama, Netanyahu and PA president Mahmoud Abbas, in order to secure such a summit. Despite shuttling between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he failed to secure such a summit.^[73] However, it was reported that he had expected his trip to be extended, that he would meet Prime Minister Netanyahu again two days later, and that there might be a three-way summit without relaunching the peace process, after which negotiations on understandings between Israel and the U.S would continue. On 18 September, Netanyahu and Mitchell met again, but failed to reach an agreement that will secure the summit. Later that day, Haaretz reported that Israeli officials blamed the Palestinian Authority for thwarting the peace talks.^[74]

On 20 September 2009, the White House announced that it will host a three-way meeting between President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, "in an effort to lay the groundwork for renewed negotiations on Mideast peace."^[75][76] The meeting took place on 22 September, in New York. Afterwards, Netanyahu said that he agreed with Abbas during the meeting that peace talks should be relaunched as soon as possible.^[77]

On 24 September 2009, in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu said Iran poses a threat to the peace of the world and that it is incumbent on the world body to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons.^[78][79] Waving the blueprints for Auschwitz and invoking the memory of his own family members murdered by the Nazis, Netanyahu delivered his most passionate and public riposte yet to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's questioning of the Holocaust, asking: "Have you no shame?"^[80]

In response to pressure from the Obama administration urging the sides to resume peace talks, on 25 November 2009 Netanyahu announced a partial 10 month settlement construction freeze plan. The announced partial freeze had no significant effect on actual settlement construction, according to an analysis by the major Israeli daily Haaretz.^[81] U.S special envoy George Mitchell said, "while the United States shares Arab concerns about the limitations of Israel's gesture, it is more than any Israeli government has ever done".^[82] In his announcement Netanyahu called the move "a painful step that will encourage the peace process" and urged the Palestinians to respond.^[83] However, the Palestinians rejected the call.^[84]

On 7 December 2009, a bill with Netanyahu's backing^[85] obligating a national referendum on any withdrawals from land passed 68–22 in the Knesset.^[86] Opponents of the bill claim it would be another obstacle to peace, by tying a Prime Minister's hand in any future peace accord.^[87] Source in Syrian foreign ministry says Israel 'provoking... international community' with referendum bill.^[88]

On 10 March 2010, Israel's government approved construction of an additional 1,600 apartments in a large Jewish housing development in northeastern Jerusalem called Ramat Shlomo^[89] despite the position of the current U.S. Government that acts such as this thwart the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The Israeli government's announcement occurred during a visit by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and the U.S. government subsequently issued a strongly worded condemnation of the plan.^[90] The European Union also condemned the announcement and issued a statement calling on the Israeli government to reverse the decision.^[91] Netanyahu subsequently issued a statement that all previous Israeli governments had continuously permitted construction in the neighborhood, and that certain neighborhoods such as Ramat Shlomo and Gilo have always been included as part of Israel in any final agreement plan that has been proposed by either side to date.^[89] Netanyahu regretted the timing of the announcement but asserted that "our policy on Jerusalem is the same policy followed by all Israeli governments for the 42 years, and it has not changed. As far as we are concerned, building in Jerusalem is the same as building in Tel Aviv."^[92]

Netanyahu, together with Mahmoud Abbas, Hillary Clinton and George J. Mitchell at the start of the direct talks on 2 September 2010.

In September 2010, Netanyahu agreed to enter direct talks, mediated by the Obama administration, with the Palestinians for the first time in a long while.^[93] The ultimate aim of these direct talks is to forge the framework of an official "final status settlement" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by forming a two-state solution for the Jewish people and the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, the Israeli government publicly stated that a lasting peace wouldn't take effect immediately due to Hamas and Hezbollah presence threatening the progress. In addition the Israeli government clearly rejected any possible agreement with the Palestinian side as long as that side refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 September, the 10 month settlement freeze ended, and the Israeli government approved new construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.^[94]

In January 2011, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak formed a breakaway party, Independence, which enabled Barak to maintain his loyal Labor MK faction within the Netanyahu coalition government, and prevented the departure of Labor as a whole from the government. Labor previously threatened to force Barak to do so. After Barak's move, Netanyahu was able to maintain a majority of 66 MKs (out 120 in the Knesset), previously having 74 MKs within his majority coalition.^{[citation needed]}

In March and April 2011 the Israeli media published a series of articles claiming that interest groups had paid for foreign trips of Netanyahu and his wife.^[95] In response, Netanyahu filed two libel suits on a total of one million NIS each against the newspaper Ma'ariv and several of its employees,^[96] and against the news division of Israeli channel 10 Hadashot 10, against the Israeli web portal Nana 10 and several employees.^[97] Later on, the couple filed another libel suit in the amount of 3.5 million NIS against the Israeli channel 10, Nana 10, Hadashot 10 and the Israeli journalists Raviv Drucker and Mickey Rosenthal.^[98][99]

In 2011, it was revealed that, on retiring from office in July of that year, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had said that Netanyahu was ungrateful to the United States and endangering Israel. Responding, the Likud party defended Netanyahu by saying that most Israelis supported the prime minister and that he had broad support in the United States.^[100][101] The depth of this support was demonstrated during his 2012 reelection campaign when half of his donations came from the Falics family in the United States.^[102]

In 2012, Netanyahu initially planned to call early elections, but subsequently oversaw the creation of a controversial government of national unity that will see Israel through till the national elections of 2013.^[103] In May 2012, in a letter to Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu officially recognised for the first time the right for Palestinians to have their own state, though as before^[41] he declared it would have to be demilitarised,^[104] and said his new unity government furnished an opportunity to renew negotiations and move forward.^[105]

Political positions[link]

Oslo Accords[link]

From the inception of the Oslo accords, Netanyahu opposed them. During his term as prime minister in the late 1990s, Netanyahu consistently reneged on commitments made by previous Israeli governments as part of the Oslo peace process, leading American peace envoy Dennis Ross to note that “neither President Clinton nor Secretary [of State Madeleine] Albright believed that Bibi had any real interest in pursuing peace.”^[106]

In a 2001 video, Netanyahu, reportedly unaware he was being recorded, said: "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo Accords]," "I said I would, but ... I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."^[107]

One of Netanyahu's campaign posters during the 2009 Israeli legislative elections which stated that he would be the best choice for Israel's economy and security.

Prior to second term as Prime Minister[link]

Netanyahu had previously called U.S.-backed peace talks a waste of time,^[108] while at the same time refusing to commit to the same two-state solution as had other Israeli leaders,^[109] until a speech in June 2009. He repeatedly made public statements which advocated an "economic peace" approach, meaning an approach based on economic cooperation and joint effort rather than continuous contention over political and diplomatic issues. This is in line with many significant ideas from the Peace Valley plan.^[110] He raised these ideas during discussions with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.^[111] Netanyahu continued to advocate these ideas as the Israeli elections approached.^[112] Netanyahu has said:

Right now, the peace talks are based on only one thing, only on peace talks. It makes no sense at this point to talk about the most contractible issue. It's Jerusalem or bust, or right of return or bust. That has led to failure and is likely to lead to failure again....We must weave an economic peace alongside a political process. That means that we have to strengthen the moderate parts of the Palestinian economy by handing rapid growth in those areas, rapid economic growth that gives a stake for peace for the ordinary Palestinians."^[110]

In January 2009, prior to the February 2009 Israeli elections Netanyahu informed Middle East envoy Tony Blair that he would continue the policy of the Israeli governments of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert by expanding settlements in the West Bank, in contravention of the Road Map, but not building new ones.^[113]

June 2009 peace address; "Bar-Ilan Speech"[link]

On 14 June 2009, Netanyahu delivered a seminal address^[114] at Bar-Ilan University (also known as "Bar-Ilan Speech"), at Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, that was broadcast live in Israel and across parts of the Arab world, on the topic of the Middle East peace process. He endorsed for the first time the notion of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.^[43] Netanyahu's speech could be viewed in part as a response to Obama's 4 June speech at Cairo. Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that Obama's words had "resonated through Jerusalem's corridors".^[115]

As part of his proposal, Netanyahu demanded the full demilitarization of the proposed state, with no army, rockets, missiles, or control of its airspace, and said that Jerusalem would be undivided Israeli territory. He stated that the Palestinians should recognize Israel as the Jewish national state with an undivided Jerusalem. He rejected a right of return for Palestinian refugees, saying, "any demand for resettling Palestinian refugees within Israel undermines Israel's continued existence as the state of the Jewish people." He also stated that a complete stop to settlement building in the West Bank, as required by the 2003 Road Map peace proposal, was not possible and the expansions will be limited based on the "natural growth" of the population, including immigration, with no new territories taken in. Nevertheless, Netanyahu affirmed that he accepted the Road Map proposal.^[116] He did not discuss whether or not the settlements should be part of Israel after peace negotiations, simply saying that the "question will be discussed".^[43]

In a response to U.S. President Barack Obama's statements in his Cairo speech, Netanyahu remarked, "there are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the State of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the State of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occurred." He also said, "this is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged." He stated that he would be willing to meet with any "Arab leader" for negotiations without preconditions, specifically mentioning Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.^[43] In general, the address represented a new position for Netanyahu's government on the peace process.^[44]

Some right-wing members of Netanyahu's governing coalition criticized his remarks for the creation of a Palestinian State; believing that all of the land should remain under Israeli sovereignty. Likud MK Danny Danon said that Netanyahu went "against the Likud platform",^[117] while MK Uri Orbakh of Habayit Hayehudi said that it had "dangerous implications".^[118] Opposition party Kadima leader Tzipi Livni remarked after the address that she thinks Netanyahu does not really believe in the two-state solution at all; she thought that he only said what he did as a feigned response to international pressure.^[46] Peace Now blasted the speech, highlighting the fact that, in the group's opinion, it did not address the Palestinians as equal partners in the peace process. The Secretary General of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, said, "It's a rerun of Netanyahu from his first term".^[119]

On 9 August 2009, speaking at the opening of government meeting Netanyahu repeated his claims from the Palestinians: "We want an agreement with two factors, the first of which is the recognition of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people and (the second of which is) a security settlement".^[120]

International reaction[link]

Netanyahu's "Bar-Ilan Speech" provoked mixed reaction from the International community:^[121]

•  Palestinian Authority – The Palestinian National Authority rejected the conditions to a Palestinian State given by Netanyahu. Senior official Saeb Erekat said, "Netanyahu's speech closed the door to permanent status negotiations". Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it reflected a "racist and extremist ideology"^[122] and called on Arab nations to "form stronger opposition".^[44] Palestinian Islamic Jihad labeled it "misleading" and, like Hamas, demanded stronger opposition to Israel from Arab nations.^[123] According to The Jerusalem Post, some leaders advocated a third intifada in response to the speech.^[43]

•  Arab League – The Arab League dismissed the address, declaring in a statement that "Arabs would not make concessions regarding issues of Jerusalem and refugees" and that "we know his history and style of evasion", adding that the Arab League would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.^[123]

•  Czech Republic – The Czech Republic, which held the presidency of the European Union, praised Netanyahu's address. "In my view, this is a step in the right direction. The acceptance of a Palestinian state was present there," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, whose country held the EU's six-month presidency at the time of the speech.^[124]

•  United States – The Press secretary of President Barack Obama, Robert Gibbs, said that the speech was an "important step forward".^[123][125] President Obama stated that "this solution can and must ensure both Israel's security and the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for a viable state".^[121]

•  Sweden – Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt stated that "the fact that he uttered the word state is a small step forward". He added that "whether what he mentioned can be defined as a state is a subject of some debate".^[121][124]

•  France – France praised the speech but called on Israel to cease building settlements in the West Bank. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner stated that "I can only welcome the prospect of a Palestinian state outlined by the Israeli Prime Minister".^[121][124]

•  Russia – The Foreign Ministry of Russia called the speech "a sign of readiness for dialogue" but said that "it does not open up the road to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian problem. The conditions on the Palestinians would be unacceptable".^[121]

•  Egypt – Referring to Netanyahu's demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, Egypt's then President Hosni Mubarak remarked, "You won't find anyone to answer that call in Egypt, or in any other place". Issuing a less blunt response, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the speech was "not complete" and that it hoped for another, "different Israeli proposal which is built on the commitment to the two-state solution".^[126][127]

•  Syria – Syrian state media condemned the speech and wrote that "Netanyahu has confirmed that he rejects the Arab peace initiative for peace along with all the initiatives and resolutions of the Security Council to relative peace".^[121][128]

•  Lebanon – Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called for unity among Arab leaders, saying that "Arab leaders should be more united and preserve the spirit of resistance to face the Israeli stands regarding the peace process and the Palestinian refugee issue." He called on the international community to exert more pressure on the Israeli government to accept the Arab Peace Initiative, as he said Israel still has a will of military confrontation which can be proved in its offensives on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.^[123]

•  Jordan – Jordanian Minister of State for Media affairs and Communications, and Government spokesperson Nabil Sharif issued a statement saying "The ideas presented by Netanyahu do not live up to what was agreed on by the international community as a starting point for achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region".^[123]

•  Iran – Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to the speech as "bad news".^[121]

Opinion on unilateral withdrawals[link]

On 9 August 2009, speaking at the opening of his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu promised not to repeat the "mistake" of the Gaza unilateral pullout, saying, "We will not repeat this mistake. We will not create new evacuees", and adding that "the unilateral evacuation brought neither peace nor security. On the contrary", and that "We want an agreement with two factors, the first of which is the recognition of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people and [the second is] a security settlement. In the case of Gaza, both of these factors were lacking". He also said, "Should we achieve a turn toward peace with the more moderate partners, we will insist on the recognition of the State of Israel and the demilitarization of the future Palestinian state".^[120][129]

Iran[link]

On 20 February 2009, after being asked to be the prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu described Iran as the greatest threat that Israel has ever faced: "Iran is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon and constitutes the gravest threat to our existence since the war of independence."^[130]

Speaking before the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September 2009, Netanyahu expressed a different opinion than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the forum, saying those who believe Tehran is a threat only to Israel are wrong. "The Iranian regime", he said, "is motivated by fanaticism… They want to see us go back to medieval times. The struggle against Iran pits civilization against barbarism. This Iranian regime is fueled by extreme fundamentalism."^[78][79]

"By focusing solely on Iran," columnist Yossi Melman speculated that Netanyahu's foreign policy, "...took the Palestinian issue off the world agenda." After four days of shelling from the Iranian-funded Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Melman asked, "Is it worth initiating a crisis with Iran? Will the Israeli public be able to cope with Iran’s response?"^[131]

Netanyahu is reported to have formed a close, confidential relationship with Defense Minister Ehud Barak as the two men consider possible Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear facilities.^[132][133] The pair were accused of acting on "messianic" impulses by Yuval Diskin, former head of the Shin Bet, who added that their warmongering rhetoric appealed to "the idiots within the Israeli public".^[134] Diskin's remarks were supported by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan,^[135] who himself had previously said that an attack on Iran was "the stupidest thing I have ever heard".^[136] A few weeks later, the RAND Corporation (a leading American think tank that advises the Pentagon) also openly disagreed with Netanyahu's belligerent stance: "In doing so, and without naming names, RAND sided with former Mossad chief Meir Dagan and former head of the Shin Bet Yuval Diskin."^[137]

In an 8 March 2007 interview with CNN, Netanyahu asserted that there is only one difference between Nazi Germany and the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely that the first entered a worldwide conflict and then sought atomic weapons, while the latter is first seeking atomic weapons and, once it has them, will then start a world war. Netanyahu repeated these remarks at a news conference in April 2008.^[138][139] This was similar to earlier remarks that "...it's 1938, and Iran is Germany, and Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs".^[140]

In 2012, he used the opening ceremony for Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day to warn against the dangers of an Iranian nuclear bomb, and claimed to be following the example of Jewish leaders during WWII who struggled to raise the alarm about the Nazis' genocidal intentions.^[141] Israeli academic Avner Cohen accused Netanyahu of showing "contempt" for the Holocaust by putting it to "political use",^[142] and former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami similarly condemned Netanyahu's "vulgar manipulation of the memory of the Holocaust".^[143]

Jonathan Pollard[link]

Netanyahu has repeatedly called for the release of Jonathan Pollard, an American serving a life sentence for passing secret U.S. documents to Israel.^[144] Netanyahu has called for his release over the course of several presidential administrations.^[144][145] He raised the issue at the Wye River Summit in 1998, where he claimed that U.S. President Bill Clinton had privately agreed to release Pollard; Clinton denied the assertion.^[146][147]

In 2002, Netanyahu visited Pollard at his North Carolina prison.^[148][149] The Israeli Prime Minister maintains contact with Pollard's wife, and has been active in pressing the Obama administration to release Pollard.^[150][151] Netanyahu has characterized Pollard as "a warmhearted Jew, proud and a real Zionist."^[151]

Defense and security[link]

The Israeli General Staff concluded that the armed forces cannot maintain their battle readiness under Netanyahu's proposed cuts.^[152] However Netanyahu decided to cut social programs instead, and promised to increase the defense budget by about six percent.^[153][154] In spite of this, the Israeli military still fell NIS 3.7 million short from its projected budget, which could damage their war capabilities.^[155]

Netanyahu arranged for 1000 prisoners to be swapped for Gilad Shalit, including terrorists with "blood on their hands."^[156] About 60% of the released terrorists were expected to return to terrorism.^[157]

According to a U.S. State Department representative in November 2011, under the leadership of Netanyahu and Obama, Israel and the United States have enjoyed unprecedented security cooperation.^[158]

Personal relations with foreign leaders[link]

During the 2011 G-20 Cannes summit, French president Nicholas Sarkozy was overheard saying to U.S. president Barack Obama, "I cannot bear Netanyahu, he's a liar". To this Obama reportedly responded, "You're fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day." Journalists covering the event were requested to sign an agreement not to report the incident.^[159][160] Apart from his relationship with the Obama admistration, Netanyahu has close ties with the U.S. Republican Party and its leadership in the House of Representatives.^[161]

Sarkozy and Netanyahu originally became acquainted when Sarkozy was the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, after an introduction by a mutual friend. The two used to dine together in Paris and Israel.^[162]

Family and personal life[link]

Related to the Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (the Vilna Gaon) on his paternal side,^[163] Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv,^[164] to Benzion Netanyahu (original name Mileikowsky) and Cela (Tsilah; née Segal). His mother was born in 1912 in Petah Tikva, part of the future British Mandate of Palestine that eventually became Israel. Though all his grandparents were born in the Russian Empire (now Belarus, Lithuania and Poland), his mother's parents emigrated to Minneapolis in the United States.^[165]

Netanyahu's father, Benzion, is a former professor of Jewish history at Cornell University,^[166] a former editor of the Encyclopaedia Hebraica, and a former senior aide to Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who has remained active in research and writing into his 90s. Regarding the Palestinian people, he has stated: "That they won't be able to face [anymore] the war with us, which will include withholding food from Arab cities, preventing education, terminating electrical power and more. They won't be able to exist, and they will run away from here. But it all depends on the war, and whether we will win the battles with them."^[167] Netanyahu has dismissed those who note similarities between his relentlessly hawkish views and those of his late father as "psychobabble". For example, David Remnick has written: "To understand Bibi, you have to understand the father."^[168]

Netanyahu's paternal grandfather was Rabbi Natan Mileikowsky, a leading Religious Zionist rabbi and JNF fundraiser.^[169] Netanyahu's older brother, Yonatan, was killed in Uganda during Operation Entebbe in 1976. His younger brother, Iddo, is a radiologist and writer. All three brothers served in the Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit of the Israel Defense Forces.

Netanyahu's first marriage was to Miriam Weizmann, whom he met in Boston. The couple had one daughter, Noa. The marriage ended in 1978. In 1981, he married Fleur Cates, a British citizen whom he met while they were both living in Boston, but the couple divorced in 1984. In 1991 Netanyahu married his third wife, Sara Ben-Artzi, a psychology major working as a flight attendant, whom he met while traveling on an El Al flight from New York to Israel. He and Sara have two sons, Yair and Avner.^[23] Yair is a Corporal in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.^[170] Avner is a national Bible champion and winner of the prestigious National Bible Quiz for Youth in Kiryat Shmona.^[171] Sara has been the defendant of numerous lawsuits filed by former housekeepers, alleging abuse and underpayment.^[172]

In the first half of 2008, doctors removed a small colon polyp that proved to be benign.^[173]

Netanyahu became a grandfather on 1 October 2009, when his daughter Noa Netanyahu-Roth (married to Daniel Roth) gave birth to a boy, Shmuel.^[174][175] In 2011, Noa and her husband Daniel had a second son named David.^[176]

Books and articles[link]

Books:
Through the years Netanyahu authored five books, three of which focus on counter-terrorism. The books he authored 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)

Articles:

• "On Terrorism"

References[link]