February 5, 2009. Copyright 2009, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Benjamin Netanyahu: has his time come again?
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, February 5, Graphic News:  Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to make a political comeback as his right-wing Likud party laps up the nationalistic fervour spawned by the Gaza conflict. The irony for his rivals may be that while he had nothing to do with the offensive, the man they call "Bibi" has scored points by claiming that they backed down before finishing the job.

Netanyahu, who served as prime minister from 1996-1999, is a known survivor in a political system that often seems peculiarly cyclical: since becoming leader of Likud in 2005, he has baited the Kadima-led coalition from the sidelines, challenging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's authority and preparing his own path back to power.

If he wins, the world can expect dramatic developments in any dealings between the notorious hawk and new U.S. President Barack Obama. But the unorthodox career of Netanyahu, who in 1996 became Israel's youngest prime minister and was the first to be born after the foundation of the Jewish state, has always contained plenty of drama.

Born on October 21, 1949, he moved to the U.S. as a teenager, served in the Israeli Defence Forces and studied at the Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology before securing a job at the Israeli embassy in Washington and later becoming Israel's ambassador at the United Nations. In 1988 he was elected to the Knesset.

In 1996 a confident Netanyahu won a U.S.-style campaign to become prime minister. However, his popularity soon evaporated because of his dealings with Yasser Arafat, concessions to the Palestinians, and the whiff of personal scandal. 

As finance minister in Ariel Sharon's cabinet, he won a mixed reaction for his "Thatcherite" policies before resigning in protest at the government's disengagement from Gaza. He remains opposed to the creation of a separate Palestinian state.

Despite the controversy, Netanyahu still appeals to those Israelis who fear ending up with a "pushover" in command. As the polls near, he is talking down any speculation that he won't get on with Obama, and talking up the threat from neighbouring Iran.
/ENDS