Since the attacks, Netanyahu has focused on waging war against Hamas and its allies, Hezbollah and Iran. At the same time, he continues to face a criminal trial over corruption allegations, all of which he denies.
Election polls suggest a close contest between Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition and an alliance of opposition parties united in their effort to remove him from power. The opposition includes former prime minister Naftali Bennett and former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
A series of controversies and political crises have repeatedly challenged Netanyahu’s grip on power. Yet he has built a reputation as a leader who manages to survive almost every political storm.
In November 2022, Netanyahu was elected prime minister for the sixth time, leading what was described as the most right-wing coalition government in Israel’s history.
Before that, he had spent 12 consecutive years as prime minister before briefly moving into opposition. His return to power strengthened the belief among supporters that “King Bibi” was almost impossible to defeat politically.
Netanyahu remains popular among many right-wing and religious voters, who regard him as a strong leader on security. His government has also sought to expand exemptions from compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews who devote themselves to full-time religious study.
However, the shadow of the October 7 attacks looms over the election, placing Netanyahu’s reputation for political invincibility at risk.
Netanyahu has acknowledged that he bears some responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023, attacks. During his premiership, Israel suffered the deadliest attack in its history.
Thousands of Hamas-led gunmen breached the Gaza border and entered Israel. Approximately 1,200 people were killed, while 251 others were taken hostage to Gaza.
Netanyahu has argued that several other people, including senior security officials, also bear responsibility for the failures that led to the attacks. He has alleged that security officials deliberately chose not to wake him in the hours before the assault because they feared he might order a large-scale deployment of Israeli forces, potentially worsening the situation.
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 74,000 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has drawn widespread international condemnation.
In the years since October 7, reports alleging that Netanyahu had received advance warnings about a possible attack have increased. These warnings were reportedly issued by his own security chief and neighbouring countries in the region. Netanyahu denies receiving such warnings.
Last month, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published excerpts from a new book alleging that the leader of the United Arab Emirates had telephoned Netanyahu 10 days before the attack to warn him about plans for a major Hamas operation.
Netanyahu’s office described the report as “completely false” and said it would sue the newspaper.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu. He became the fourth global leader to face such a warrant, following Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.
The warrants issued against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant drew strong objections from almost all political factions in Israel.
The warrants relate to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks. The allegations include “using starvation as a method of warfare,” as well as murder, persecution and other inhumane acts classified as crimes against humanity.
Both Netanyahu and Gallant reject the allegations.
Netanyahu’s Brother and His Legacy
Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949. In 1963, his family moved to the United States after his father, Benzion, a prominent historian and activist associated with the Jewish nationalist movement, received an academic position there.
Netanyahu returned to Israel at the age of 18. He served in the military for five years and became a captain in Sayeret Matkal, an elite commando unit.
In 1972, Palestinian militants hijacked a Belgian passenger aircraft and brought it to Israel. Netanyahu was wounded during an operation to free the hostages. He subsequently participated in the 1973 Middle East war.
In 1976, Netanyahu’s brother Jonathan was killed while leading the hostage-rescue operation at Entebbe in Uganda. His death had a profound impact on the Netanyahu family, and Jonathan’s name became associated with a celebrated episode in Israeli history.
Netanyahu established a counterterrorism institute in his brother’s memory.
In 1982, he became deputy chief of mission at Israel’s embassy in Washington, marking the beginning of a rapid rise in public life.
His fluent English and distinctive American accent soon made him a familiar face on American television, where he became an effective advocate for Israel’s position.
In 1984, he was appointed Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.
How Netanyahu Rose to Power
After returning to Israel in 1988, Netanyahu entered politics. He won a seat in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, as a Likud Party candidate and became deputy foreign minister.
He later became leader of the Likud Party.
Following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, an early election was called. Netanyahu won the 1996 election and became prime minister for the first time.
He was Israel’s youngest prime minister and the first head of government born after the country’s establishment in 1948.
Netanyahu had strongly criticised the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians. Nevertheless, in 1997, he signed an agreement under which 80% of Hebron was transferred to Palestinian Authority control.
He also agreed to further Israeli military withdrawals from the occupied West Bank. The decisions triggered sharp criticism from the right, although the plan collapsed before the Israeli military had withdrawn from most of the designated areas.
In 1999, Netanyahu decided to call an election 17 months before it was due. He lost to Labour Party leader Ehud Barak, who had previously served as his commander in the military.
After the defeat, Netanyahu stepped down as Likud leader and was replaced by Ariel Sharon.
Netanyahu returned to government in 2001 after Sharon became prime minister. He first served as foreign minister and later as finance minister.
In 2005, he resigned in protest against Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip.
That same year, another opportunity emerged. Sharon broke away from Likud to establish a new centrist party called Kadima. Shortly afterwards, Sharon suffered a severe stroke and fell into a coma.
Netanyahu was once again elected leader of Likud.
In March 2009, he became prime minister for the second time. He agreed to a 10-month freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, although the measure included several exemptions.
The unprecedented step enabled peace talks with the Palestinians to begin, but negotiations collapsed by the end of 2010.
In 2009, Netanyahu publicly expressed conditional support for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. His position subsequently hardened.
In 2019, he told an Israeli radio station, “The Palestinian state that people talk about will not be created. It will not happen.”
Earlier this year, Netanyahu said everyone knew him as the person who had “prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state that could threaten our existence for decades.”
He said Israel would maintain full security control over all territory west of the Jordan River, including Gaza and the West Bank, and that this control would remain in place “no matter what.”
Expansion of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank
During Netanyahu’s time in office, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank expanded rapidly. Critics argue that the growth has made efforts to achieve a two-state solution increasingly difficult.
Since returning to power in 2022, his current government has approved more than 100 new settlements. Unauthorised outposts and farms established on hilltops have also expanded rapidly during his government’s tenure.
Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that supports a two-state solution, has said the government has accelerated the process of “de facto annexation of the West Bank at an unprecedented pace.”
All Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law. The outposts are also illegal under Israeli law, although many receive government support.
Clashes involving Palestinian attacks and Israeli military operations have repeatedly erupted in and around the Gaza Strip. Such confrontations occurred before Netanyahu returned to power in 2009 and continued afterwards.
Throughout his political career, Netanyahu has repeatedly described Iran as Israel’s greatest threat. For more than three decades, he has argued that Tehran was attempting to acquire nuclear weapons and urged world leaders to adopt a tougher stance against the Iranian government.
His long-running campaign reached a peak in February 2026, when Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel, US military installations and Gulf countries. Meanwhile, a new war began in Lebanon following a Hezbollah attack.
A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect in April. In June, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding, but the agreement broke down within weeks.
Since then, the United States and Iran have attacked each other, and no new agreement is currently in force.
Corruption Trial Continues to Haunt Netanyahu
Investigations into corruption allegations against Netanyahu began after 2016. In November 2019, following an investigation, he was charged in three separate cases involving bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing. He maintains that he is the target of a politically motivated “witch hunt” orchestrated by his opponents.
His trial began in May 2020, making him the first Israeli prime minister to face criminal proceedings while in office.
Netanyahu has appealed to President Isaac Herzog for a pardon. Herzog, however, has said efforts to reach an agreement involving an admission of guilt should be pursued first.
More than six years later, the case remains unresolved, and the trial is continuing.
Netanyahu’s government has also faced major protests over its controversial plans for sweeping changes to the judiciary.
Before the October 7 attacks, the demonstrations exposed deep divisions within Israel over national identity and democracy. As the country prepares for another election, those divisions remain unresolved.
Netanyahu’s Relationship With Donald Trump
After Donald Trump became US president in 2017, the policies of the Israeli and American governments moved closer together.
Within a year, Trump announced that the United States recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that provoked widespread anger across the Arab world.
Arab countries support Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied following the 1967 Middle East war. The United Nations also supports the Palestinian claim, regarding East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.
Nevertheless, Trump’s decision was widely viewed as a significant domestic political and diplomatic achievement for Netanyahu.
In January 2020, Netanyahu described Trump’s plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians as “the opportunity of the century.”
The Palestinians rejected the proposal as one-sided, and the plan failed to advance.
Netanyahu and Trump also shared similar positions on Iran. In 2018, Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement and reimpose economic sanctions.
However, after congratulating Joe Biden on winning the November 2020 presidential election, Netanyahu faced sharp criticism from Trump, who accused him of disloyalty.
Relations Between Netanyahu and Trump Improve Again
The relationship between the two leaders subsequently improved, although it faced further tests.
During his second term, Trump supported Israel in its war against Iran. He also called for Netanyahu to be pardoned in his corruption case and hosted him at the White House several times.
Their most recent meeting took place in July.
Since Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, Netanyahu has met him eight times. No other world leader has met Trump as frequently during that period.
Days before the election, Trump again publicly expressed his support for Netanyahu.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump endorsed the Israeli prime minister, describing him as “a great wartime prime minister” and saying that “in the face of tremendous opposition, he has been strong, courageous and brilliant.”
Ultimately, the election is being viewed as a referendum on one of Israel’s most divisive political leaders.
His supporters believe Israel still needs Netanyahu to keep the country safe. His critics argue that Netanyahu’s rule...
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