Benjamin Netanyahu: The former military commando who led Israel for 15 years
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rule has come to an end on Sunday but as leader of the country's largest party, Likud, he would continue to challenge the new government.
Born in 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Jewish family, Benjamin Netanyahu who stormed into Israeli politics in the 1990s was unlike any other politician the country had seen.
Also read: Who is Naftali Bennett, Israel's new Prime Minister?
Educated in the United States, speaking flawless English, and warning in heavy voice about the threats posed by Islamic terrorism and a nuclear-armed Iran, Netanyahu's political skills pulled him out of so many traps that his critics dubbed him a magician.
Netanyahu returned to Israel after graduating from high school in 1967 to join the Israel Defense Forces. He trained as a combat soldier and spent five years in the IDF's Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, or Unit 269) elite special forces organisation.
During the 1967–70 War of Attrition, he took part in multiple cross-border assault raids, rising to become a squad leader in the unit. Several times in warfare, he was wounded.
He has set various records throughout his 15 years in power, including 12 consecutive years.
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Netanyahu was Israel's youngest and longest-serving prime minister, outlasting even the country's founder, David Ben-Gurion.
For the first time, he became the prime minister of Israel in 1996 when the 27th government of Israel (Date formed: 18 June 1996, Date dissolved: 6 July 1999) was formed by the Likud party.
And second time Netanyahu was sworn in as Israeli prime minister was in 2009 after winning parliamentary approval for his right-leaning government.
Netanyahu, who hadbeen in power for 15 years from 1996 to 1999 and2009-2021, confrontedchallenges to his political life and his freedom.
His corruption cases include fraud, bribery, and breach of trust allegations that could land him in prison for a decade. Netanyahu's parliamentary immunity may be revoked now that he is in opposition.