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بنیامین نتانیاهو، رهبر حزب راستگرای لیکود روز سه شنبه 31 مارس به عنوان نخست وزیر جدید اسرائیل در مقابل کنست، پارلمان این کشور سوگند یاد کرد و کابینه ائتلافی اش را معرفی کرد.
بنیامین نتانیاهو از افراطی ترين و بحث برانگیز رهبران اسرائیل در تاريخ 60 ساله این کشور است.
او زمانی که برای نخستین بار در سال 1996 به مقام نخست وزیری اسرائیل رسید، جوانترین فردی بود که به اين مقام دست می یافت.
اما سه سال بعد در جریان انتخاباتی زودهنگام در مقابل اهود باراک، رهبر حزب کارگر شکست خورد. متعاقب این انتخابات او رهبری حزب لیکود را که از سال 1993 در اختیار داشت به آریل شارون واگذار کرد و برای مدتی از سیاست کناره گرفت.
در سال 2002 با خروج حزب کارگر از دولت ائتلافی آریل شارون، بنیامین نتانیاهو جایگزین شیمون پرز در وزارت خارجه شد و سپس در سال 2003 وزارت دارایی را بر عهده گرفت.
در سال 2005 آریل شارون رهبری حزب لیکود را رها کرد و حزب جدید کادیما را بنیاد گذاشت و بار ديگر این فرصت برای آقای نتانیاهو ایجاد شد که رهبری حزب راستگرای لیکود را در دست گیرد.
او که به عنوان رهبر اين حزب با سیاستهای دولت آریل شارون در خصوص خروج نیروهای اسرائیلی از نوار غره و تخلیه شهرک های یهودی نشین مخالف بود، در اعتراض به این تصمیها از مقام خود کناره گرفت و از آن زمان به عنوان اصلی ترین منتقد حزب کادیما، همواره به سیاستهای دولتهای شارون و اهود اولمرت، جایگزین او را حمله کرد.
اتهامات مالی علیه اهود اولمرت، نخست وزیر سابق اسرائیل و رهبر حزب کادیما و انتقادهای وسیع در خصوص رهبری وی در جنگ لبنان در سال 2006، از محبوبیت او به شدت کاست و فضا را برای حضور دوباره احزاب راستگرا در عرصه سیاست اسرائیل آماده کرد.
بنیامین نتانیاهو در فعالیتهای انتخاباتی اش ایران را خطری جدی برای اسرائیل خوانده بود و وعده داد که هسته ای شدن ایران را خنثی می کند.
بنیامین نتانیاهو اصلی ترین منتقد سیاستهای دولت اهود اولمرت بود
اخراج حماس از غزه و ادامه روند صلح خاورمیانه بدون آنکه کشور مستقل فلسطینی تشکیل شود، از دیگر وعده های انتخاباتی او بوده است.
با اینکه کادیما در انتخابات ماه فوریه با فاصله ای کم لیکود را شکست داد، اما به علت پیروزی نسبی احزاب دیگر راستگرا، شکست نسبی چپگراها از جمله حزب کارگر و
اینکه کادیما نپذیرفت با این احزاب ائتلاف کند، شیمون پرز، رئیس جمهوری اسرائیل، بنیامین نتانیاهو را مامور به تشکیل کابینه ائتلافی کرد.
بنیامین نتانیاهو که در میان دوستانش به "بی بی" معروف است، تنها نخست وزیرتاریخ اسرائیل است که پس از تاسیس کشور اسرائیل به دنیا آمده است.
او در سال 1949 در تل آویو به دنیا آمد و در نوجوانی مدتی همراه با خانواده اش در آمریکا اقامت کرد و در آنجا به تحصیل پرداخت.
یوناتان، برادر بنیامین که در جربان عملیات آزادسازی شهروندان اسرائیلی به گروگان گرفته شده هواپیماربایان در انتبه، پایتخت اوگاندا در سال 1976 کشته شد، قهرمانی ملی در اسرائیل به شمار می رود.
بنیامین نتانیاهو به مدت پنج سال در ارتش اسرائیل در يک واحد چریکی خدمت کرد و پس از پایان خدمتش در ارتش، دوباره به آمریکا بازگشت و این بار در سطح عالی در هاروارد مشغول به تحصیل شد.
همراه با بیل کلینتون، ملک حسین و یاسر عرفات در جربان نشست صلح خاورمیانه در واشنگتن
ورود او به عرصه سیاست با مقامی که سفارت اسرائیل در واشنگتن بدست آورد، آغاز شد. نمایندگی اسرائیل در سازمان ملل از سال 1984 مهترین مقام او تا آن زمان بود.
در سال 1984 زمانی که هنوز به چهل سالگی نرسیده بود وارد کنست شد و معاونت وزارت خارجه دولت اسحاق شامیر را عهده دار شد. در سال 1993 با کناره گیری
اسحاق شامیر از رهبری لیکود، نتانیاهوی جوان جای این سیاستمدار کهنه کار را گرفت.
بنیامین نتانیاهو در نگاه هوادارانش سیاستمداری جوان، خوش قیافه و فعال است که بر زبان انگلیسی مسلط است و می داند چگونه با رسانه های غربی صحبت کند.
او که همواره اعلام کرده که مخالف تاسیس کشور مستقل فلسطینی و واگذاری زمین در مقابل صلح است، خود در زمان نخستین دوره نخست وزیری اش زیر فشار آمریکا بخشی از خاک تحت کنترل اسرائیل را به فلسطینیها واگذار کرد.
آقای نتانیاهو در سال 1997 بیش از 80 درصد شهر الخلیل را به حکومت خودگردان فلسطینی داد و در سال 1998 طی قراردادی متعهد شد بخشهای دیگری از کرانه باختری را نیز واگذار کند.
در سال 1999 آقای نتانیاهو که بسیاری از طرفدارانش را از دست داده بود، مجبور به اعلام انتخابات زودرس شد و 17 ماه پیش از پایان دوره قانونی صدارتش در این انتخابات بازنده شد.
او تاکنون سه بار ازدواج کرده است و سه فرزند دارد.
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Israel's parliament has sworn in Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister and approved the new right-leaning coalition cabinet by 69 votes to 45.
Mr Netanyahu had earlier asked the country's parliament to trust in him to lead Israel through the economic and security challenges it faces.
He said he would negotiate with the Palestinians but made no reference to a two-state solution to the conflict.
The new cabinet is the largest in Israel's political history.
It combines the centre-right, centre-left and far-right parties, with hard-liner Avigdor Lieberman confirmed as foreign minister and Labour veteran Ehud Barak as minister of defence.
The cabinet is so big, the government's meeting table has had to be extended to accommodate all the members.
Speaking before the swearing-in, Mr Netanyahu said these were "not normal times" for Israel but asked the parliament to trust him "at this time of global crisis, the likes of which we have not had in years".
He said: "Israel finds itself facing two enormous challenges: an economic challenge, and a security challenge. These two crises have come at a time of great international change."
Analysts say the nuclear ambitions of Iran are likely to top the cabinet's security agenda.
In an apparent reference to that effect, Mr Netanyahu said the biggest threat to Israel and the world came from "the possibility of a radical regime armed with nuclear weapons".
He said it was "shameful" that "calls by Iranian leaders to destroy Israel are greeted with indifference by the world, without being firmly condemned".
Gaza issue
The BBC's Paul Wood in Jerusalem says one of the first things the new government must do is reassure the international community that peace talks with the Palestinians will continue.
In his speech, Mr Netanyahu said his government would strive to reach an agreement with the Palestinians and would work towards peace on economic, security and political tracks.
"I am telling the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, if you really want peace, it is possible to reach peace," he said.
"We do not want to govern another people. We do not want to exercise our power over the Palestinians."
But the Palestinian Authority said the statement was "not encouraging", as it made no reference to the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
Mr Netanyahu has said in the past that he sees no need for the Palestinians to have full separate statehood and, our correspondent says, this remains an unlikely outcome.
Tensions over the Gaza Strip, with no agreed ceasefire in place in the wake of Israel's bloody operation in January, are another of the pressing security issues the new government will face.
Tuesday saw an outbreak of violence in the coastal enclave, with Gazan medical sources saying two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike. The Israeli military said the men had been carrying weapons and were trying to plant an explosive device near the border fence.
One Israeli soldier was lightly injured in an exchange of fire when ground troops crossed the fence shortly after the air strike.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli police said two rockets had been fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza. No injuries or damage were reported.
Mr Netanyahu is keen to topple Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, so the new government could well lead to more difficult times for Gazans, says our correspondent.Comment
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'Clear conscience'
Mr Olmert said he was not resentful to be leaving office
The formation of the government ends nine months of uncertainty since outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced plans to step down in the face of multiple corruption investigations.
In his final speech as prime minister, Mr Olmert said he was proud of his government's many achievements and "not in the least bit resentful" as he left office, reported Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
Mr Olmert also said he was sorry for his government's mistakes, which he said were were "not few", but that his conscience was clear.
"I acted for the nation and the people by the best of my judgement," he said.
Mr Olmert's Kadima party, which backs a two-state solution and is now led by outgoing Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, won the most seats in February elections.
But right-leaning parties did better overall, so her rival, Mr Netanyahu, was considered more likely to be able to form a coalition and invited by President Shimon Peres to try.
Talks aimed at bringing Kadima into a unity government failed, with Ms Livni saying the parties' platforms were too different.
Sitting in opposition will be new territory for the party, our correspondents note, and Israeli commentators are divided as to whether the party will profit from its distinctiveness or simply implode.Comment
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"I promise that if I am elected, Iran will not acquire nuclear arms, and this implies everything necessary to carry this out," Benjamin Netanyahu said before the elections. In other speeches Netanyahu described Iran's nuclear program as "an existential threat for Israel," and warned that it risked a second Holocaust. Does his return as prime minister necessarily bring Israel nearer to war with Iran?
In political circles the view is that yes, Netanyahu as prime minister brings Israel closer to war with Iran. Politicians in touch with Netanyahu say he has already made up his mind to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. People close to him wonder how the public would receive a joint decision by Netanyahu and Ehud Barak to attack Iran, and whether the move would boost the two men's popularity. The basic assumption is that diplomacy and sanctions will not gain a thing, and the only way to stop Iran's nuclear program will be by force, which only Israel is motivated to apply.
This is also the assessment of the international media, who consider an Israeli strike against Iran a near certainty. European governments are practicing evacuating their citizens from Iran in case a "third party" strikes the nuclear installations. Israel's veiled threats "that no option should be lifted from the table," which were meant to push the international community to intensify pressure and sanctions on Iran to prevent war, have had the opposite effect. The international community has become convinced that Israel will act on its own, so it does not need to do a thing.
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Inside Israel's security-strategic community, opinions are divided. Experts estimate that the air force can reach Iran and strike the nuclear installations. Such a strike would give us three to four years which, if properly utilized, would allow for diplomacy to prevent the nuclear project's resumption. Some observers note that after the bombing of the Iraqi reactor in 1981, critics of the attack claimed that Saddam Hussein would be able to rebuild in three to four years, but this never happened.
However, despite our operational capabilities - which remain unproven - many defense experts say an attack against Iran is "too big a mission for Israel." They raise two main arguments: concerns that Iran's response will be harsh and start a general war, even if the operation fails, and more importantly, the United States' determined opposition to an independent Israeli operation. This view is held by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The defense experts say that without a green light from Washington, Netanyahu and Barak will not be able to send in the air force.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert hoped to neutralize Iran's nuclear program differently, and we can assume that Israel managed to delay the project by a few years; maybe even a decade. But that sort of activity has been exhausted. The Iranians have overcome the difficulties and managed to cross the "technological threshold" of enriching uranium, according to the head of Military Intelligence.
About a year ago, Olmert and Barak presented then-president George W. Bush with a list of requests that were meant, according to commentators, to make an Israeli air strike on Iran easier. Bush was frightened and the administration issued strong messages calling on Israel not to take action. Since then, reports have appeared in the foreign media of long-distance training by the Israeli air force in Greece, and of air strikes in Sudan, along with calming U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was not close to having a bomb. Olmert changed his position, and after promising that "Iran will not have nuclear capabilities," he explained that there are limits to Israel's capabilities.
Netanyahu is counting on Barack Obama, and on their meeting next month, where he will tell Obama that history will judge his presidency over the way he handles the Iranian nuclear program. The question is whether Netanyahu's abilities to be convincing and his sophisticated English will allow him to alter Obama's agenda: preventing Pakistan and its nuclear arms from falling into the hands of the Taliban and Al-Qaida, while trying to buy quiet from Iran. It is doubtful whether even an Israeli proposal to pull back from the Golan Heights and evacuate settlements in the West Bank will lead Obama to bomb Iran, or let Netanyahu order an attack. Israel will have to try to reach an understanding with Obama centered on dealing with Iran.
All this suggests that the rise of Netanyahu to power increases the chances of war with Iran, but the "point of no return" has not yet been crossed.Comment
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