Netanyahu is back.

　　On November 9, Israel's Central Election Commission formally submitted the final election results to President Herzog, and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be authorized to form a new government.

In Israel's 25th parliamentary election, the camp of the right-wing former prime minister who has been in power for the longest time since the founding of Israel successfully won the parliamentary majority, trying to fulfill the promise made after he was ousted in 2021. "We will return soon."

The data picture shows Netanyahu attending an event in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2018.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

"Tough" veterans who have gone through the battlefield

　　Looking back at Netanyahu's life and political experience so far, the word "tenacity" is almost always used throughout.

　　Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1949.

After graduating from high school in the United States in 1967, he chose to return home to join the military as a member of the reconnaissance battalion directly under the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, where his two brothers also served.

　　Public information shows that Netanyahu participated in many military operations when he joined the army. His opponents included both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government forces of Egypt and Jordan. Israel raided Lebanon in 1968 and the fourth outbreak in 1973. He was also featured in the Middle East war.

　　Speaking of his service experience in 2007, Netanyahu said he had a "great respect" for the troops he had served in: "My service experience has deepened my understanding of the risks that decision makers and those who execute operations take. For me it's tangible, not theoretical."

　　The military career not only affected Netanyahu's tenacious character, but also had a profound impact on his political career.

　　In June 1976, his brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed during Operation Entebbe, a rescue of Israeli hostages trapped in Uganda.

Netanyahu told Fox News that "my world crumbled" when he learned of his brother's death.

This strengthened his belief in fighting terrorism and became one of the factors that influenced Israel's external attitude during his administration.

The firm right wing of "extremely long standby"

　　Netanyahu became a member of the right-wing Likud party in 1988 and has since become party leader.

Its prime minister's term combined up to 15 years before and after, is Israel's longest-serving prime minister.

During this period, Israel's stance on national security issues such as Palestine-Israel relations and the Iranian nuclear issue has become increasingly firm and tough.

　　Judging from Netanyahu's past ruling experience, he has always pursued a hard line on national security issues.

Since the beginning of this century, Israel's construction of the separation wall in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the expansion of Jewish settlements have aroused strong dissatisfaction from all walks of life in Palestine, and conflicts between the two sides have occurred from time to time.

In May 2021, the largest armed conflict between Palestine and Israel broke out from 2014 to that time.

　　In the more than ten years of its rule, although large and small conflicts broke out between Israel and Palestine Hamas and Lebanon Hezbollah, large-scale wars and all-out bloodshed have not occurred, which can be described as peace under high pressure.

　　Under his rule, Israel ushered in a period of rapid development.

Between 2009 and 2020, the country's GDP per capita increased by 60%.

　　Internally, Netanyahu faces a split in the political arena and difficulties in forming a cabinet.

The Knesset has always been composed of small and medium-sized parties, usually composed of several parties united by common interests to form a ruling coalition.

The results of this election show that the "anti-Netanyahu" camp formed by Lapid has lost seats and its strength has declined; far-right political forces have risen rapidly, center-left parties have lost seats, and Arab parties have once again fallen into splits.

Against this backdrop, Netanyahu's ability to integrate will be tested.

　　Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a think tank, believes that a Netanyahu victory will usher in a hard-right coalition, and for him, how to control extremists in the coalition will be the challenge.

Is it possible to "return the strong" in the quagmire?

　　In December 2019, Israel's Attorney General Mandelblit filed an indictment indicting Netanyahu on three counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu has consistently denied all allegations.

Under Israeli law, government ministers must resign if charged, but the prime minister can stay on until he is convicted, so Netanyahu did not step down because of the prosecution's charges.

　　In March 2021, Israel will hold its fourth election in two years.

This election has also become an important part of Netanyahu's continued political life and rid of corruption charges.

　　However, Rapid's "Have the Future" party successfully formed an "anti-Netanyahu" coalition with multiple parties and defeated it.

Netanyahu, who ousted from power, lost his asylum as prime minister and faced direct corruption charges.

　　However, the "anti-Netanyahu" coalition did not last long.

At the end of June this year, the Knesset announced its dissolution and announced that a new parliamentary election will be held on November 1.

　　For Netanyahu, winning the new election is a win for two birds with one stone: a "glorious" return to the prime minister's seat, and a potentially favorable factor in shrugging off corruption charges.

　　In a recording released ahead of the election, key allies of Netanyahu said that if he were elected as a government minister, he would push for reforms to bar police investigations of the current prime minister.

　　However, Likud has denied that the proposed reforms will have an impact on Netanyahu's corruption case, and Netanyahu himself has said the investigation will not be called off.

　　After Israel's Central Election Commission formally submitted the final results of the election to the president on the 9th, Netanyahu is one step closer to returning to the prime minister's seat.

However, Netanyahu will still face many challenges such as corruption scandals and political party competition before he plays the role of "The Return of the Strong".

　　Authors: Xiao Yudi, Zhang Huandi