Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s youngest-and-longest serving prime minister–fifteen years and two months–has once again returned as prime minister. It has been a year and a half since June 2021, when he was defeated by the "anti-Netanyahu coalition”, comprised of representatives from opposing parties and conflicting members within his party. However, partnering up with hard-right parties in the early general elections in November 2022, he was successful in launching the most far-right and religiously conservative party in Israeli history. Thus, the spotlight on his inauguration is not positive; multiple leaders around the world, especially those from Arab countries, and within Israeli have expressed concerns in regards to his future plans. Let us first look into Israel as a nation, who Netanyahu is, and finally, why he stands in the middle of controversy.

1. History of Israel: Religious Foundation and Conflicts

The history of Israel goes back to the 15^th century BCE, when Jews (Israeli) settled in Canaan, where Israel is now. Years later, the invasion of Rome forced Jews to leave the area, allowing an influx of Arabs (Palestinian) in the 1^st century CE with the Ottoman Empire’s intrusion that followed.^[1] Twenty decades later, in the 19^th century, Jews started to return to where they thought they belonged.^[2] Around the same period, Britain took control of some partitions of the Ottoman Empire before it fell in World War I. One of them was Palestine today. This accelerated the movement to establish a Jewish state along with the support of the United Nations and Britain. With the help of the United States, the Jews succeeded in establishing what is now Israel on May 14^th, 1948. Concurrently, Muslims in the same area were abandoned. Conflicts between the two demographics intensified as Israel continued to expand its territory and authority by establishing Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories. As such, the United States and Israel do not recognize Palestine as a state, whereas several Arab countries, including Palestine, do not acknowledge Israel as a state.

2. Apprehension in the Air

a. Political Propensity of Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu is a symbol of Israel's conservative right. One of the prominent tendencies of being on the right is the strong protection of its own people: in this case, Jews. In other words, it embraces extreme Jewish nationalism, refusing conciliatory agreements with Arab countries–especially Palestine. As expected, he made his idea clear in his inauguration manifesto: "[Jewish people’s] exclusive and unalienable right to all parts of the land of Israel.” He further added that he would strengthen Jewish settlements in the West Bank and would not resolve the conflict with the Palestinians through allowing the establishment of Palestinian state alongside Israel.

b. Jurisdiction in Jeopardy

Netanyahu was criticized for undermining Israel's democratic system through radical law revisions. He appointed Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, as the minister of finance, and was also authorized to designate the leader of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).^[3] During the election campaign, Smotrich proposed a radical reform act which damages judicial independence.^[4] Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, castigated his acts, stating “This demonstrates the fragility of our democracy.”

c. Public Protest and Opinions overseas

The Israeli public has indeed objected to Netanyahu’s extreme conservative tendencies in the past. The outcry blamed him for neglecting domestic affairs as he was dedicated on international agendas: thwarting Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and checking up on Arab countries. In 2011, a protest arose, demanding social justice due to the continued economic meltdown. On January 7^th of this year, a public turmoil in Tel Aviv opposed Netanyahu's return and above all, rebuked him over his radical legal revision that weakens the democratic system as well as potentially expanding Jewish settlements. CNN on December 2022 reported that Israeli former diplomats and ambassadors conveyed "profound concern at the serious damage to Israel's foreign relations […].” A National Security Council spokesperson noted Netanyahu has “repeatedly said he will set the policy of his government” as he forms a coalition with hard-right parties. Furthermore, Dalal Salameh, member of the central committee of the ruling Palestinian Fatah movement, warned that the new government could trigger a new intifada, asserting “This is a fascist government whose main goal is exclusive control over all of Palestine,” according to The Guardian in December 2022.

Israel opens 2023 with a new administrative body, but the previous works and sworn-in representatives exhibit that the new government is not as new as it seems. Though his previous track records may have received heavy criticisms, he addressed to the Knesset, Israel's house of Parliament, on December 29^th, stating that rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and settling more peace agreements with Arab nations are the two top priorities of his administration. Thus, various stakeholders, such as the United States, Arab nations, and Israelis must keep an eye on his future moves.