Editing Benjamin Netanyahu (section)

== Biography ==
Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Tzila Segal (28 August 1912 – 31 January 2000) who had been born in Petah Tikva in the Ottoman Empire's Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, and a Warsaw-born father, Prof. Benzion Netanyahu (1910–2012). He was the second of three children. He discovered via a DNA test that he is, in part, of Sephardi Jewish ancestry. He was initially raised and educated in Jerusalem, where he attended Henrietta Szold Elementary School. A copy of his evaluation from his 6th grade teacher Ruth Rubenstein indicated that Netanyahu was courteous, polite, and helpful; that his work was "responsible and punctual"; and that he was friendly, disciplined, cheerful, brave, active and obedient.

Between 1956 and 1958, and again from 1963 to 1967, his family lived in the United States in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, while father Benzion Netanyahu taught at Dropsie College. Benjamin attended and graduated from Cheltenham High School and was active in the debate club, chess club, and soccer.

He and his brother Yonatan grew dissatisfied with a perceived superficial way of life they encountered in the area, including the prevalent youth counterculture movement, literary interpretation focused on individualized feelings, and the liberal sensibilities of the Reform synagogue, Temple Judea of Philadelphia, that the family attended. To this day, he speaks fluent English, with a noticeable Philadelphia accent.

Prior to entering politics, Netanyahu previously served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1967 to 1973, taking part in combat operations during the War of Attrition, the [[Yom Kippur War]], and the Suez Canal Crisis, managing to attain the rank of captain before he was honorably discharged. He served as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 until 1988, after which he first joined the Knesset as a member of Likud. He replaced [[Yitzhak Shamir]] as Likud's chairman in 1993.

During [[Ariel Sharon]]'s premiership, Netanyahu served as both Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset during [[Ehud Olmert]]'s premiership.

Netanyahu is a controversial and polarizing figure. He is known to have a hardline stance against Palestine and has constantly fought against the recognition of a Palestinian state, notably being opposed to the Oslo Accords. Oppression of Palestinians is shown to have increased under him. In recent years, attacks carried out in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have caused some to go so far as accusing Netanyahu's government of committing [[war crimes]] against Palestinians and even committing [[ethnic cleansing]] and possibly [[genocide]] against Palestinians.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/israel-west-bank-palestinian-territories-courts-crime-19117d4265f5d564256ea7fe75854aa6 ICC launches war crimes probe into Israeli practices], ''AP News''</ref><ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/ ISRAEL AND OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 2021], Amnesty International</ref> This attitude may also extend to Arabs, as most Arab countries support Palestine. Both the United Nations and the US State Department have noted that Arabs face systemic discrimination in Israel and face longer prison terms if convicted of crimes than native Israelis.

Tensions with Palestine [[2021 Israel-Palestine crisis|increased]] in 2021 following a planned decision by the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of four Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. This led to [[Hamas]] and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] launching a series of coordinated rocket attacks into Israeli from Gaza, which in turn lead to a series of airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force, leading to the deaths of over 300 Palestinian civilians and several thousand injured. The International Criminal Court in the Hague has subsequently launched a war crime probe into these attacks, which Netanyahu has described as "pure[[Anti-Semitism| anti-semitism]]."<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-03-03/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-blasts-icc-war-crimes-probe-as-the-essence-of-antisemitism/0000017f-db9c-df62-a9ff-dfdf9ccc0000 Netanyahu Blasts ICC War Crimes Probe as 'The Essence of Antisemitism'], ''Haaretz''</ref> 

In addition to his questionable treatment of Palestinians, Netanyahu has also faced numerous accusations of political corruption on charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust, which Netanyahu himself has denied. Despite this, the Israeli attorney general announced his intention to file indictments against Netanyahu on bribe and fraud charges in three different cases in February 2019. This would make Netanyahu the first sitting Prime Minister in Israeli history to be indicted on criminal charges. On 21 November 2019, he was indicted on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. Due to the indictment, Netanyahu is legally required to relinquish all of his ministry posts other than the prime minister position.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/03/world/middleeast/netanyahu-corruption-charges-israel.html Netanyahu Will Return With Corruption Charges Unresolved. Here’s Where the Case Stands.], ''The New York Times''</ref> Netanyahu is also being accused by various opposition parties and international critics of the Israeli government of conspiring war against Iran for the purpose of maintaining ongoing power.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/former-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-on-the-current-state-of-the-middle-east Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the current state of the Middle East], ''PBS Newshour''</ref><ref>[https://www.jns.org/hanegbi-netanyahu-will-order-attack-on-iran-if-world-turns-its-back-on-israel/ Hanegbi: Netanyahu will order attack on Iran if world turns its back on Israel], ''Jewish News Syndicate''</ref>

Netanyahu is considered allies with a number of authoritarian world leaders, including [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Viktor Orbán]], and former Italian Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]]. He was also a strong ally of former President [[Donald Trump]] when Trump was in office.

In spite of this, Netanyahu has done good things as well. He is supportive of the LGBT community and same-sex marriage (but it can antagonize even more neighboring countries where it is not normalized in its citizens), and is also credited with making important reforms to the Israeli economy.

Shortly after the Palestinian crisis, Knesset member and leader of the Yamina alliance [[Naftali Bennett]] announced that he had agreed to a deal with Yair Lapid to form a coalition government that would oust Netanyahu from his position as Prime Minister. The new government went into effect on June 13, thus ending Netanyahu's 12-year premiership. He subsequently became the Leader of the Opposition, his third time holding the position.

Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister for a third time in 2022.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/3/netanyahu-and-far-right-declared-winners-in-israeli-elections Netanyahu and far right allies win Israeli election], ''Al Jazeera''</ref> His coalition pursued judicial reform, which was met with large-scale protests in early 2023.<ref>[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65086871.amp Israel judicial reform explained: What is the crisis about?], ''BBC News''</ref>

The 7 October attacks by Hamas-led Palestinian groups in the same year triggered the Gaza war, with Netanyahu facing nationwide protests for the security lapse during the attack and failure to secure the return of Israeli hostages. In October 2024, he also ordered an invasion of Lebanon with the stated goal of destroying the military capabilities of [[Hezbollah]], a key ally of Hamas that helped them since the 7 October attack.<ref>[https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine-lebanon/israel-invades-lebanon  Israel Invades Lebanon: Precursors, Prospects and Pitfalls], International Crisis Group</ref> After the fall of [[Bashar al-Assad]]'s [[Ba'ath Party|Ba'athist]] regime in December 2024, Netanyahu also directed an invasion of Syria against the Syrian opposition.<ref>[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/israeli-troops-to-occupy-syria-buffer-zone-indefinitely-netanyahu/amp Israeli troops to occupy Syria buffer zone indefinitely: Netanyahu], ''Daily Sabah''</ref>

Netanyahu's government has been accused of genocide in Gaza, culminating in the ''South Africa v. Israel'' case before the International Court of Justice in December 2023.<ref>[https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192 Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)], International Court of Justice</ref> The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in November 2024 for Netanyahu along with former Defense Minister [[Yoav Gallant]] and Hamas militant [[Mohammed Deif]], for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.<ref>[https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant], International Criminal Court</ref><ref>[https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1157286 ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas commander], ''UN News''</ref>