In Israel, Netanyahu’s ultimate legacy is the opposition he has forged

What the report says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading into Israel’s election later this month with his political legacy increasingly defined by the opposition he has helped create, according to Al Jazeera. The article says Netanyahu remains a dominant figure in Israeli politics, but also the central target of a broad anti-Netanyahu bloc that unites several parties with different ideologies.

The report traces Netanyahu’s long career from roles in Washington and at the UN to becoming Israel’s youngest prime minister in 1996, then returning for a record long run in power from 2009 to 2021 and leading a far-right government after 2022. It says his leadership has coincided with a sharp rightward shift in Israeli politics, growing support for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, and escalating conflict in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.

Al Jazeera also highlights Netanyahu’s clashes with Israel’s judicial system, including corruption cases and a bid to overhaul the courts in 2023 that sparked mass protests. The article notes that his current coalition includes hardline ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, figures seen by critics as symbols of his hard-right governing style.

Polls cited in the report suggest Likud and its allies are no longer as strong as in the 2022 election, while the anti-Netanyahu camp is narrowing the race. The piece presents Netanyahu as both a polarizing leader and the main force shaping the alliance determined to remove him.