Benjamin Netanyahu: Who is the Prime Minister of Israel and why does he have more power than the President?

In the middle of Israeli-Palestinian conflictcurrently taking place in the Middle East and all declaration of warcertain political actors stand out who have influenced the trajectory of both states.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is one of the country’s prominent figures. After the weekend attacks, Netanyahu spoke out on social media.

“Israel is at war. We didn’t want this war. They imposed it on us in the most brutal and cruel way. But even if Israel didn’t start this war, it will end it.”, he wrote on his X profile (formerly Twitter).

“Hamas will understand that by attacking us it has made a mistake of historic proportions. We will demand a price that they and Israel’s other enemies will remember for decades to come. (…) Hamas is ISIS. And just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel to defeat Hamashe added.

“By fighting Hamas, Israel is not just fighting for its own people. It fights for all countries that oppose barbarism. Israel will win this war, and if Israel wins, the entire civilized world will win.”, wrote the Prime Minister.

Who is Benjamin Netanyahu?

Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel, when it already existed as an independent state. In January 1950, when he was months old, Israel declared Jerusalem its capital.

Jerusalem was where Netanyahu spent his early years with his family, but they later moved to the United States. There he completed his schooling and high school, after which he returned to his native country to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, where he served for five years.

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He later returned to the United States to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but interrupted his studies to serve in the Yom Kippur War. After obtaining a degree in architecture, he chose to study political science at Harvard University.

In 1978, he appeared on local television in Boston and said that “the real heart of the conflict is the deplorable Arab refusal to accept the State of Israel.”

The same year, back in Israel, he headed the Yonathan Netanyahu Anti-Terrorism Institute, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the study of terrorism. Thus, he began to build relationships with Israeli politicians, and in 1982 he became deputy chief of mission of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC for Minister Moshe Arens.

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Between 1984 and 1988 he was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. In 1991, Netanyahu was appointed deputy minister in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office while rising in the Likud Party and becoming a candidate for prime minister.

In June 1996 became Israel’s youngest prime minister and the firstborn when it already existed as an independent state.

Key points of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government

To understand Netanyahu’s role in Israeli politics, you need to know how his system of government works.

In Israel, The president is a figure appointed to represent the union of the state, above party politics. It is elected by members of the Knesset, the parliament.

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His term lasts seven years and he has no opportunity for re-election, but the president is responsible for signing treaties and laws, appointing judges, appointing the governor of the Bank of Israel, exercising public functions and responding at the request of citizens. in addition to the appointment of the Prime Minister with the support of Parliament. The current president of Israel is Isaac Herzog.

But Prime Ministerwho is the head of the government is the one who leads the executive branch and makes decisions. That’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister Israel has ever had, and also the one who has had the most re-elections.

From 2009 to 2021, he ruled Israel for almost twelve years, forming government coalitions and implementing right-wing policies. During his rule, he was also investigated for bribery and fraud, charges Netanyahu has denied.

Despite losing the position to the opposition in 2021, his party again received the most votes in the November 2, 2022 elections and he formed his government in December.

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Currently, He is the prime minister in charge of Israel during the war with Hamas.

In a tweet, he addressed Israeli citizens and shared some of the actions he had taken regarding the war.

“First action: cleanse the settlements and repel any enemy access to our territory. Those battles still continue. There are still several vicious terrorists among us and our armed forces are working day and night to eliminate them,” Netanyahu wrote.

“A second action currently underway is to launch a massive attack on Hamas with unprecedented intensity,” he said.

The third action, according to the prime minister, will be to strengthen the other fronts – on the northern border against Hezbollah, in Judea and Samaria, and within the State of Israel.

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“Fourth action: the continuation of the strengthening of international support that I began to mobilize at the start of the campaign on Saturday, to preserve our space for action against our enemies,” he noted.

“One final action is of the utmost importance to me: establishing the unity of the people. The division within us is over. We are all united. And when we are united, we win,” he concluded. (JO)