Analysis of Benjamin Netanyahu: Strong, Divisive, and Influential

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister – and one of its most scrutinized. Now, with Israel at war with Hamas, The Washington Post’s Griff Witte breaks down Netanyahu’s political history and his fragile future.

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It’s been over a month since Hamas militants attacked Israel, leaving at least 1,200 people dead and 239 people kidnapped. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. An estimated 11,000 people in the territory have been killed since. Most of the dead are women and children. 

Though the Israeli government has agreed to military pauses to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, Netanyahu has rejected calls for a total cease-fire – a stance that is testing his support worldwide. Netanyahu’s leadership was already scrutinized before the war, rooted in corruption charges and his government’s judicial overhaul that sparked historic protests across Israel. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Griff Witte, a former Jerusalem bureau chief for The Post, unpacks Netanyahu’s rise and his chances of political survival.