Benjamin Netanyahu

{{Audio|He-Benjamin_Netanyahu.ogg|Benjamin Netanyahu}} (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ (without niqqudot: ?????? ??????), transliteration: Binyamin Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi) (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel.

Prime minister (1996-1999)

In 1996 for the first time Israelis chose their Prime Minister directly. Netanyahu was elected in 1996 after a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks on Israeli civilians. Shimon Peres, who had succeeded the assassinated Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was initially favored in the polls, but could not stop the terror attacks and public faith in him decreased rapidly. On March 3 and 4 1996, Palestinian militants carried out two lethal suicide bombings in which 32 Israeli citizens were killed. Those two attacks were the main catalyst in the downfall of Peres, who eventually lost the election due to his inability to stop attacks against Israelis. Unlike Peres, Netanyahu did not trust Yasser Arafat's good will and conditioned any progress at the peace process on the Palestinian Authority fulfilling their obligations - mainly fighting terrorism. His campaign slogan was "Netanyahu - making a safe Peace".

Related Topics:
Shimon Peres - Yitzhak Rabin - Suicide bombings - Attacks against Israelis - Yasser Arafat - Palestinian Authority

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Perhaps due to his American education, Netanyahu hired American right-wing politican operative Arthur Finkelstein to run his campaign. Although the American style of soundbites and sharp attacks elicited harsh criticism from inside Israel, it proved effective and Netanyahu's Likud Party took control. In 1999 Ehud Barak would choose a similar style to challenge Netanyahu by bringing in Bill Clinton's former campaign manager, James Carville, as well as American consultant Bob Shrum and pollster Stanley Greenberg.

Related Topics:
Arthur Finkelstein - Likud Party - 1999 - Ehud Barak - Bill Clinton - James Carville - Bob Shrum - Stanley Greenberg

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As Prime Minister he negotiated with Yasser Arafat in the form of the Wye accords, but many claimed he tried to stall any progress. Netanyahu's approach to the peace negotiations was popular:

Related Topics:
Yasser Arafat - Wye accords

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:"If they'll give - they'll get. If they won't give - they won't get".

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:"יתנו - יקבלו. לא יתנו - לא יקבלו"

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This approach seemed to work; unlike the rule of his predecessors and successors, Netanyahu's rule was quieter with relatively few Palestinian suicide bombings within Israel. In 1996, Netanyahu and Jerusalem's mayor Ehud Olmert decided to open an exit for the Western Wall tunnel. This sparked three days of riots by Palestinians, resulting in about a dozen Israelis and a hundred Palestinians being killed.

Related Topics:
Jerusalem - Ehud Olmert - Western Wall

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Despite the relatively low level of terrorism during his Premiership, Netanyahu was opposed by the left-wing in Israel and also lost support from the far right because of his concessions to the Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere and due to his negotiations with Arafat generally. After a long chain of scandals (including gossip over his wife) and an investigation opened against him on charges of corruption, Netanyahu lost favor with the Israeli public.

Related Topics:
Left-wing - Hebron

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After being defeated by Ehud Barak in the 1999 Israeli general elections, Netanyahu temporarily retired from politics.

Related Topics:
Ehud Barak - 1999

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