Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel (born 1949), (1996-1999; 2009-2021; 2022-present) · Israel · Politicians

Benjamin Netanyahu is read about 26,312 times a day, in 135 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?

Compare Claim

Israel's longest-serving prime minister, now governing through genocide charges, an ICC arrest warrant, and wars across three borders.

Israeli Politics Politics Politicians Politician Founders Economics Israel Middle East

A life in dates

2022Prime Minister of IsraelOffice2019Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern CrossAward2015Irving Kristol AwardAward2014Minister of CommunicationsOffice2014-20172009“We cannot accept the fact that Jews wouldn't be entitled to live and buy anywhere in Jerusalem.”In their words19 July 2009"Israel rejects U.S. call to halt Jerusalem project" in USA Today (19 July 2009)Read the whole statement

“Every time an Arab leader truly wanted peace, they got it. If the Palestinians truly want peace, we will make peace.”In their wordsSpeech to the United Nations General Assembly, as quoted in "Netanyahu speech / PM slams Gaza probe, challenges UN to confront Iran" inRead the whole statement

Prime Minister of IsraelOffice2009-20212006“The truth is that if Israel were to put down its arms there would be no more Israel. If the Arabs were to put down their arms there would be no more war.”In their wordsSpeech at the Knesset at the end of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, as quoted in "Olmert: We will continue to pursue Hizbullah leaders"Read the whole statement

Leader of the OppositionOffice2006-20092003Minister of FinanceOffice2003-20052001“But then the question came up of just who would define what Defined Military Sites were.”In their wordsAt the Israeli settlement of Ofra, 2001 (speaking to a family of West Bank settlers whose 10 year old son had just returned from theRead the whole statement

“[Asked about the effect of 9/11 on Israeli-American relations] It’s very good.”In their words12 September 2001"A Day of Terror: The Israelis: Spilled Blood Is Seen as Bond That Draws Two Nations Closer", The New York Times (12 September 2001), p. A22Read the whole statement

1996Prime Minister of IsraelOffice1996-19991988Honorary Doctor of the Bar-Ilan UniversityAwardKnesset memberOffice1988-19991987“The root cause of terrorism lies not in grievances but in a disposition toward unbridled violence.”In their wordsAs quoted in "Terrorism: How the West Can Win" (1987), Awakeǃ, 1/8.Read the whole statement

Tzeltner PrizeAward1984Permanent Representative of Israel to the United NationsOffice1984-19881980Jabotinsky MedalAward1949Born21 October 1949

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

1967 photograph of Netanyahu by the Israel Defense Forces

Benjamin Netanyahu at the grave of his brother Yoni Netanyahu, who was killed leading the Entebbe raid in 1976

Netanyahu (right) with Sorin Hershko, a soldier wounded and permanently paralyzed in Operation Entebbe, 2 July 1986

Netanyahu's first meeting with Palestinian president Yasser Arafat at the Erez crossing, 4 September 1996

Netanyahu with President Bill Clinton, King Hussein of Jordan and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in October 1996

Netanyahu sitting with U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat at the Wye River Memorandum, 1998

In their own words 10

Benjamin Netanyahu

10 statements, newest first

We cannot accept the fact that Jews wouldn't be entitled to live and buy anywhere in Jerusalem.
Jul 19, 2009, "Israel rejects U.S. call to halt Jerusalem project" in USA Today (19 July 2009), Own words
I came here tonight to talk about the agreement and security that are broad consensus within Israeli society. This is what guides our policy.
Jun 14, 2009, Speech at Bar-Ilan University, as quoted in "Full text of Netanyahu's foreign policy speech at Bar Ilan" in Haaretz (14 June 2009), Own words
Every time an Arab leader truly wanted peace, they got it. If the Palestinians truly want peace, we will make peace.
2009, Speech to the United Nations General Assembly, as quoted in "Netanyahu speech / PM slams Gaza probe, challenges UN to confront Iran" in, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

On YouTube

82K subscribers

Open channel on YouTube

Awards

Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross2019

Irving Kristol Award2015

Honorary Doctor of the Bar-Ilan University1988

Tzeltner Prize1987

Jabotinsky Medal1980

Family

Parents

Benjamin Netanyahu

Partners

Children

Brothers and sisters

Is this everyone?

Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.

Correct this family

About this person

Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, Netanyahu served in Israeli special forces before studying at MIT and working in consulting. He became Israel's UN ambassador in 1984, then led Likud to victory in 1996 as Israel's first directly elected prime minister. Defeated in 1999, he returned to power in 2009 and stayed there longer than anyone else, tying himself to Trump, expanding settlements, and facing bribery and fraud indictments in 2019 that he refused to let unseat him. After brief removal in 2021, he returned in 2022 and pushed judicial reforms that brought mass protests. The October 7 Hamas attacks triggered the Gaza war; his government's conduct led to genocide accusations before the International Court of Justice and an ICC arrest warrant in November 2024. He has since launched strikes on Iran, invaded Lebanon twice, sent forces into Syria, and started a war explicitly aimed at regime change in Tehran.

Country

Israel