# Benjamin Netanyahu > Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister, Netanyahu leads a wartime coalition while facing a domestic corruption trial and an ICC arrest warrant issued November 2024. **Meta:** type: reference · date: 2026-07-03 · heads: · 3 takes · 2 lenses · 2 regions ## What it is Benjamin Netanyahu, born October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, is Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister, having held the office across three periods: 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021, and from December 29, 2022. His total tenure surpassed founding PM David Ben-Gurion's record in July 2019. He leads the center-right Likud party and, as of mid-2026, depends for coalition survival on the far-right Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit. Both partners hold maximalist positions on Gaza and the West Bank that constrain Netanyahu's latitude on any negotiated outcome. ## History Netanyahu served in the elite IDF Sayeret Matkal unit from 1967 to 1973, was wounded in the 1972 Sabena Airlines hostage rescue at Ben-Gurion Airport, and left with the rank of captain. He earned a B.Sc. in architecture and M.Sc. in management from MIT. Entering politics through Likud in 1988, he became Deputy Foreign Minister and won Israel's first direct PM election in 1996, defeating Labor's Shimon Peres. His first term ended in 1999 with a loss to Ehud Barak. His second, uninterrupted stretch from 2009 to 2021 included Operation Protective Edge in Gaza (2014), a March 2015 speech to the US Congress openly opposing the Iran nuclear deal, and the 2020 Abraham Accords normalizing ties with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. A rotating Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid coalition removed him in June 2021; he returned after the November 2022 elections at the head of the most right-wing cabinet in Israeli history. ## Current state Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages, triggering the Gaza war Netanyahu has led since. On November 21, 2024, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes (starvation as a method of warfare, directing attacks against civilians) and crimes against humanity (murder, persecution) in Gaza. All 125 ICC member states are formally obligated to arrest Netanyahu on entry to their territory. Domestically, he faces criminal trial in three cases (Case 1000, 2000, and 4000) on bribery, fraud, and breach-of-trust charges stemming from a 2019 indictment. He sought a presidential pardon from President Isaac Herzog in 2025; Herzog has not granted it. Knesset coalition legislation aimed at repealing the fraud and breach-of-trust charge was advancing as of mid-2026. On the northern front, [Netanyahu committed IDF forces to remain in Lebanon and Syria](/ko/n/netanyahu-idf-stays-lebanon-syria-jun25) pending security guarantees, even as an [agreed US-brokered framework for Israeli withdrawal](/ko/n/israel-lebanon-framework-deal-jun26) emerged in late June 2026. [Hezbollah rejected those terms](/ko/n/hezbollah-rejects-lebanon-framework-jun27), and [US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed for a deal with a firm timetable](/ko/n/israel-lebanon-rubio-intent-jun25). The [Smotrich-driven push for Gaza settlements](/ko/n/smotrich-gaza-settlements-jun29) strains the coalition from the right; [Knesset dissolution legislation advanced June 30](/ko/n/israel-knesset-dissolution-advance-jun30) amid those mounting pressures. ## Relationships Netanyahu's coalition survival depends on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who can collapse the government if he concedes too much on Gaza or Lebanon. His most consequential external partner is US President Donald Trump, who has backed him strongly, publicly called for dismissal of the corruption charges, and delivered joint military action during the 2026 US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. European governments are increasingly at odds with Israel over the ICC warrant. Iran has defined Netanyahu's strategic frame for three decades; the 2026 strikes represent the culmination of a policy he advocated for years before Washington agreed. ## What to watch - Whether the corruption trial delivers a verdict before 2027, and whether the Knesset succeeds in canceling the fraud charge Netanyahu faces in all three cases. - ICC warrant enforcement: which of the 125 member states actually detain Netanyahu if he travels, and whether the US formally shields him from the warrant's scope. - The Lebanon withdrawal: Hezbollah's current rejection of the framework and continued US diplomatic pressure leave the timetable for Israeli forces open as of early July 2026. - Coalition stability. A Smotrich or Ben-Gvir departure would trigger early elections Netanyahu is not assured to win. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### official record - **United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine** (International, en) — UN document reproducing the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I decision of November 21, 2024, rejecting Israel's jurisdictional challenges and issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Source: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/icc-arrest-warrant-netanyahu-21nov24/ - **Knesset of Israel** (Israel, en) — Official Knesset parliamentary database profile for Benjamin Netanyahu (member ID 764), recording his terms in the Knesset, party affiliation with Likud, committee memberships, and service as Prime Minister across multiple terms. Source: https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=764 ### legal proceedings - **Times of Israel** (Israel, en) — Times of Israel topic page aggregating trial coverage, including the three criminal cases (1000, 2000, 4000) on bribery, fraud, and breach-of-trust charges filed in the 2019 indictment, key witness testimony, and developments through 2026. Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/netanyahu-trial/ ## Across the graph - Related: [[netanyahu-idf-stays-lebanon-syria-jun25]], [[israel-lebanon-framework-deal-jun26]], [[hezbollah-rejects-lebanon-framework-jun27]], [[smotrich-gaza-settlements-jun29]], [[israel-knesset-dissolution-advance-jun30]], [[israel-lebanon-rubio-intent-jun25]] - Entities: Person:benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Idf, Gaza War, Person:donald Trump --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ko/n/benjamin-netanyahu-dossier