End of Netanyahu's 12 years in power: All you need to know

SUMMARY

Israel's opposition is closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of the nation, following the emergence of a coalition deal between centristYair Lapid and the far-right Naftali Bennett

By CNBCTV18.comJun 3, 2021 11:23:50 PM IST (Updated)

Benjamin Netanyahu, popularly called Bibi was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv–Yafo. While his family, that included his academician father Benzion Netanyahu, moved with his family to the US in the 60s, Benjamin returned to enlist in the Israeli army and became a soldier in the elite special operations unit Sayeret Matkal, and was part of several high profile missions.

On the academic front, Netanyahu studied and earned an MBA degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founded the Jonathan Institute, in memory of his brother Jonathan, who died while leading the successful Entebbe raid in 1976. Netanyahu served as Israeli ambassador in several countries before being elected to the Knesset (Israeli parliament) as a Likud member in 1988. He later served as deputy minister of foreign affairs (1988–91) and then as a deputy minister in Yitzhak Shamir’s coalition cabinet.

In 1993, Netanyahu, who was opposed to Israel-PLO peace accords then, became the leader of the Likud party. He was the youngest person ever to serve as Israel's prime minister in 1996 after defeating Prime Minister Shimon Peres by a thin margin. In one of his biggest decisions, he ordered the tunnel near Al-Aqsa Mosque be reopened, which angered Arab nations. Subsequently, he reversed his opposition to the 1993 deal and agreed to withdraw troops from key areas like Hebron. However, due to opposition from right wing parties in Israel, his government was dissolved in 1998. He later served as foreign affairs minister and finance minister in the government led by Ariel Sharon.

Netanyahu became the prime minister for the second time in 2009 after his party came to power with the support of a number of smaller parties. It was during this term that he openly expressed qualified support for the principle of an independent Palestinian state. He also openly advocated a hard stand against Iran across global platforms during this term.

In 2013 he was re-elected to the post as the head of a coalition after weeks of negotiations with smaller parties. He returned to power again in 2015 with a decisive majority.

With the Knesset dissolved in 2019, early elections were held in April that year, which were followed by two more elections in a matter of months, as no side got a clear majority. One reason experts say that Netanyahu continued to remain in power in Israel as he always had an upper hand when it came to conflicts with neighbouring enemies.

Israel's opposition moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the emergence of a coalition deal between Centrist Yair Lapid and the far-right Naftali Bennett.