Benjamin Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister of Israel since its inception.
Born in Tel Aviv on October 21, 1949, he grew up in Jerusalem before moving with his family to Pennsylvania during his high school years, where his father taught history. In 1967 Netanyahu returned to Israel and joined the IDF's Sayeret Matkal special forces unit, where he served until 1973.
He took part in many military operations, including a 1972 rescue mission of hostages in a hijacked Sabena airplane, during which he was shot in the shoulder. Netanyahu finished his military service in 1972, but returned to serve in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, after which he was promoted to the rank of Captain.
His brother Yonatan "Yoni," an IDF officer, was killed during Operation Entebbe in 1976 at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda where Israelis were being held hostage. His was the only death resulting from the mission.
He has degrees in architecture and business management from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University. He served as Israel's ambassador to the UN from 1984-1988, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Ariel Sharon's government.
In 1993 Netanyahu was elected Likud party chairman and served as the leader of the opposition until being elected prime minister in 1996. In 2009, he was elected prime minister for the second time, in January 2013 a third, and in March 2015 a fourth.
He is married to Sara Netanyahu with whom he has two children, Yair and Avner.
In 2018, the Mossad stole Iran's nuclear archive. Netanyahu later presented the information to the international community. Netanyahu strongly opposes a nuclear deal with Iran.
Under the rotation government set by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Netanyahu serves as the leader of the opposition.
Supreme Court Justice granted the government and the Attorney-General's office until Tuesday to reach a compromise on Netanyahu's proposal to appoint Zini as head of the Shin Bet.
Netanyahu's defense team was denied the request to cancel all defense witness testimonies this week, prior to the PM's trip to the US.
Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump must yield a productive and courageous decision to change the face of the current conflict.
Herzog reiterated that he "does not take the potential costs" of a hostage deal lightly and understands the concerns, but he is confident that the cabinet and establishment will deal with challenges.
Smotrich responded to the leak from the meeting, while criticizing Netanyahu and the cabinet over their decision to move forward on Gaza aid.
Netanyahu’s Washington trip is less a mid-war strategy session and more a staging event – a showcase of the US–Israel alliance reborn through conflict.
Ben-Gvir stated that the true goal of the war is the collapse of Hamas, and that the deal proposed would distance Israel from its goal, as well as ‘rewarding terrorism.’
Sources close to Netanyahu estimate that the person who will fill Dostri's place is Ziv Agmon, a Likud member who joined the prime minister's press team last month.
"If it is implemented, it will be possible to move forward toward a comprehensive agreement that will bring everyone home and end the war, as President Trump has said."
The reality is that the silent majority of Israelis have either been neutralized by the government’s published justifications of the war or are not prepared to face the consequences of their inaction
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