The Netanyahu Era: Every Government He Has Built

The short version

Benjamin Netanyahu has been prime minister for about 19 years. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history. David Ben-Gurion is second, at 13 years and 127 days. Netanyahu has led six governments under three separate stretches in office: 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021, and 2022 to now.

His career has three acts.

• The first term (1996 to 1999). He beat Shimon Peres by a point in the first direct vote for prime minister. He lost to Ehud Barak three years later.
• The long run (2009 to 2021). He came back and held office for twelve years, through four governments, with four elections in two years at the end.
• The return (2022 to now). After a year and a half in opposition, he returned with the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history. It has governed through the judicial overhaul fight, the 7 October attack, the Gaza war and a war with Iran.

This article is a field guide to each of those governments. For the current coalition's internal fights, see the Government and Opposition article. For the Haredi parties' role, see the Haredi article.

A note on sources. Most of the dates and seat counts below come from Wikipedia's pages on each government and election. Where I rely on one source or on my own memory, I say so.

The governments at a glance

For the deadlock between 2019 and 2021, the results were:

Likud was the largest party in six of the ten elections since 2009 and was never the largest in 1996, 2009 or Sept 2019.

Source note. The 2009 and 1996 elections are the two where Netanyahu became prime minister without Likud winning the most seats. I rely on Wikipedia for each government's page.

The first term, and the wilderness (1996 to 2009)

1996. Netanyahu won the first direct election for prime minister by 50.5% to 49.5% over Peres. Likud-Gesher-Tzomet won 32 seats. Labor won 34, so Netanyahu governed with a smaller party but a direct mandate. The coalition had 66 of 120 seats.

What he did. The Hebron Protocol was signed on 17 Jan 1997, a day after the Knesset approved it. Israeli troops redeployed from about 80% of Hebron. The Wye River Memorandum was signed with Yasser Arafat at the White House on 23 Oct 1998. Gesher left the coalition on 6 Jan 1998. A no-confidence vote followed, which led to the May 1999 election.

How it ended. Ehud Barak won, and the 28th government took office on 6 July 1999.

The wilderness. He was out of the prime minister's office for ten years. I have not researched those years for this guide. He returned as Likud leader and became prime minister again after the 2009 election.

The 2009 oddity. In Feb 2009 Kadima won 28 seats and Likud 27. President Peres asked Netanyahu to form the government anyway, because the right-wing bloc was bigger. It is the clearest example of the rule that the president picks the candidate most likely to build a majority, not the largest party.

The long run (2009 to 2021)

The 32nd government (2009 to 2013). A wide coalition of Likud, Yisrael Beytenu, Shas, Labor and Jewish Home, with UTJ joining the next day. The government was approved 69 to 45 and later grew to 74. Ehud Barak's Independence split from Labor cut the majority to 66 in Jan 2011. Kadima joined in May 2012 and left in July over the Tal Law.

Two events from that period are worth knowing. Netanyahu gave his Bar-Ilan speech on 14 June 2009, and announced a ten-month partial settlement freeze on 25 Nov 2009 that ended on 27 Sept 2010.

The 33rd government (2013 to 2015). Likud ran with Yisrael Beytenu as a joint list and won 31 seats. The government had 68 seats: Likud-Beytenu 31, Yesh Atid 19, Jewish Home 12 and Hatnuah 6. The threshold was raised from 2% to 4% before that election. It was a government of the secular center and the religious right, without the Haredi parties. It broke apart on 2 Dec 2014, when Netanyahu fired Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid. Four more Yesh Atid ministers resigned and the Knesset dissolved.

The 34th government (2015 to 2020). The narrowest. It started at 61 seats: Likud 30, Kulanu 10, Jewish Home 8, Shas 7 and UTJ 6. Yisrael Beytenu joined in 2016 and left in 2018. The New Right was formed on 29 Dec 2018 when Bennett and Shaked left Jewish Home. In Dec 2018, the Knesset dispersed. It dispersed again on 30 May 2019 after talks with Liberman failed over the draft. That began the deadlock.

The deadlock (Apr 2019 to Mar 2021). Four elections in two years. Likud came first or tied in all of them except Sept 2019. Neither bloc could form a stable majority, and reports tie the first stalemate to Liberman's refusal to join over the draft. I did not confirm that in a second source.

The 35th government (2020 to 2021). On 20 Apr 2020 Netanyahu and Gantz agreed to a rotation. Netanyahu would serve 18 months to Oct 2021, then Gantz 18 months. Gantz was defense minister. A COVID cabinet was set up in May. The Knesset dissolved on 23 Dec 2020 when the budget deadline passed. The rotation never happened.

Items I could not confirm in my sources: the dates of the Abraham Accords (15 Sept 2020, from my memory), Operation Pillar of Defense (14 to 21 Nov 2012, memory) and Operation Protective Edge (8 July to 26 Aug 2014, memory).

Opposition, then the 37th government (2021 to now)

The interlude. The Bennett and Lapid government was approved 60 to 59 on 13 June 2021. Eight parties and 62 seats: Yesh Atid 17, Blue and White 8, Yamina 7, Labor 7, Yisrael Beytenu 7, New Hope 6, Meretz 6 and the United Arab List 4. It fell after right-wing MKs withdrew when the settler law renewal failed. The Knesset dissolved on 30 June 2022. Lapid served as prime minister from 1 July to 29 Dec 2022.

The 2022 election. Likud won 32 seats. Yesh Atid won 24, Religious Zionism-Otzma 14, National Unity 12, Shas 11 and UTJ 7. The right-wing bloc totaled 64. Meretz fell below the threshold with about 4,000 votes to spare. The 37th government took office on 29 Dec 2022.

The coalition. Likud, Shas, UTJ, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit and Noam. See the Government and Opposition article for the cabinet and the term-by-term fights.

What happened next.

• 2023. The judicial overhaul triggered mass protests. Defense Minister Gallant called for a halt on 25 March 2023, and Netanyahu paused the plan.
• 7 October 2023. Hamas killed 1,195 people and took 251 hostages. Israel invaded Gaza on 27 October.
• The emergency government. National Unity joined on 11 Oct 2023, and Gantz joined the war cabinet. He left on 9 June 2024. New Hope left in March 2024 and returned on 30 Sept 2024.
• Ceasefires. 24 Nov to 1 Dec 2023, 19 Jan to 18 Mar 2025, and from 10 Oct 2025, when the last 20 living hostages were released. One source says about 70% of Gaza remains under Israeli military control.
• Ben-Gvir. Otzma Yehudit quit on 21 Jan 2025 over the ceasefire and rejoined in March.
• The Haredim. Both UTJ factions quit the government on 14 July 2025 over the draft. Shas quit its ministries days later but stayed in the coalition.
• Iran. A 12-day war ran from 13 to 24 June 2025. Wikipedia describes a second Iran war that began on 28 Feb 2026 with US and Israeli strikes, a ceasefire on 8 April, a US-Iran memorandum on 17 June, and a collapse of the ceasefire on 8 July. That source is a single page, and its war figures are provisional. Treat it with care.
• 2026 Knesset. The draft bill was shelved in March to pass the budget. A preliminary dissolution vote passed 110 to 0 on 20 May. The Basic Law on Torah study passed 63 to 52 on 13 July. The arrest-freeze law passed 58 to 54 on 14 July. The Knesset dissolved on 17 July. Justice Ofer Grosskopf suspended the law on 15 July, a nine-justice panel kept the suspension on 28 July, and the panel struck it down on 3 Sept.

The 25th Knesset is the first to serve a full four-year term since 1988, according to the Jerusalem Post, Israel Hayom and JNS. Sources differ on whether the 37th government is the first to complete a full term since 1973 or in 53 years. One source estimates the coalition at about 60 seats now.

Patterns, the trial and the stakes

Patterns.

• He wins by assembling, not by winning big. Likud never topped 36 seats in these years. Each government was built from a bloc of right-wing and religious parties plus, sometimes, a centrist partner.
• Partners have turned on him. Barak split from Labor. Bennett, Lapid, Livni, Liberman and Gantz each served with him and then left. Each defection weakened a government or ended it.
• The right has moved right. In the 1990s his partners were the National Religious Party and Third Way. In 2022 they were Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. The Haredi parties were in every Netanyahu government except the 33rd, and left the current one in July 2025.
• He has outlasted the polls. He was out of office between 1999 and 2009 and between June 2021 and Dec 2022. Both times he came back.

The trial. The indictment was filed on 21 Nov 2019. Cases 1000 and 2000 are fraud and breach of trust. Case 4000 adds bribery. The trial opened on 24 May 2020. Prosecution witnesses began on 5 April 2021. His own testimony began on 10 Dec 2024 and ended on 24 June 2026 after 98 hearings. On 29 June 2026, the judges again urged prosecutors to drop the bribery charge, according to one source.

The pardon request. Netanyahu filed on 30 Nov 2025 without admitting guilt. The Justice Ministry's pardons department said on 24 March 2026 that a pardon would be "extremely problematic." President Herzog said on 26 April that he would not consider it yet and pushed for a plea deal. The attorney general agreed to talks on 4 May. A report on 8 May said Herzog told a Netanyahu confidant he cannot pardon without an admission of guilt. That last report is from one source. I found nothing newer than 30 June, so the status from July to October is unverified.

The stakes in this election. Netanyahu is running to lead a seventh government. A Likud win keeps the trial and the pardon question in his hands. A loss means a Yashar-led or Together-led government, and a legislative agenda built around the draft, the judiciary and the war inquiry.

Latest polling. A Channel 12 poll from July had Yashar 23, Likud 22 and Together 16, with the anti-Netanyahu bloc at 59 and the pro-Netanyahu bloc at 51. For current averages, see the Election Math article.

Sources: Wikipedia, 27th government; 32nd; 33rd; 34th; 35th; 36th; 37th; 2026 election; 2022 election; Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu; List of prime ministers of Israel; Times of Israel, Herzog and the pardon request; Al Jazeera, Knesset dissolves.