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.
“Had we not interrupted the leak, it could have endangered the lives of security forces in the Strip, and hostages might have been harmed.”
Bob Woodward's book 'War' features more revelations based on quotes from a number of high-level interactions between US and Israel.
On Sunday, it was reported that Netanyahu's aid, Eliezer Feldstein, was a suspect in leaking sensitive security documents.
A Trump victory will have horrendous consequences for the US, the free world, and for Israel, not least of all from a democratic perspective.
Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.
“If Netanyahu knew, he is complicit in one of the most serious security breaches in the law book," Lapid said.
Feldstein was hired by the PMO media team soon after the war began, but his employment status remained unclear.
Netanyahu vowed that the IDF would thwart Hezbollah's attempts to rearm and would “respond firmly against any action against us.”
Out of the 101 hostages currently detained in Gaza captivity, 51 are believed to be alive, 37 are confirmed dead, and 12 are unaccounted for.
Iran warns US, Israel of 'crushing response' • IDF uncovers Hamas weapons production tunnel
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