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.
Netanyahu's prominent representatives on the channel, from Yaakov Bardugo to Erel Segal, are already deeply engaged in delivering pro-agreement messages.
Prosecutors have opposed PM Netanyahu's request to postpone testimony in Case 1000, emphasizing public interest in timely trial completion.
"This has been the perception of Netanyahu and his office all these years - that Hamas is not terrible," Lapid claimed.
Efforts to clinch a truce appeared to advance last week when Hochstein declared significant progress after talks in Beirut.
Several other European countries, including Ireland and Germany, have announced in the past that they will respect the judges' ruling.
His remarks came after the ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I am assembling a team of world-class lawyers from around the globe to help defend Israeli leaders against the false charges," Dershowitz said.
“What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling,” Trudeau said in a statement on Saturday. “Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them.”
The two were "accused of deliberately creating a direct channel that bypasses the military system," the statement read.
The ICC accuses Israel of genocide, but evidence regarding IDF aid distribution tells a very different story.
JPOST Digital Library
