Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that he will contest this year’s election, brushing aside speculation about his political future and declaring that he intends to secure another term
in office.
“I am going to run, and I intend to win,” Netanyahu said during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office. The remarks come days after US President Donald Trump publicly questioned whether the veteran Israeli leader would seek to remain in office once the current conflict subsides.
“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career,” Trump said in an interview last week, adding, “Does he want to continue? Because, you know he’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister.”
Trump’s comments sparked speculation about Netanyahu’s political plans at a time when Israel is navigating the aftermath of conflicts involving Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
Responding to the uncertainty, Netanyahu’s Likud party quickly issued a statement on X saying the prime minister “will run in the upcoming election, and, God willing, will win.”
The 76-year-old leader is already the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, having held office across three separate periods: from 1996 to 1999, from 2009 to 2021 and again since returning to power in December 2022. He first won election as prime minister in 1996, becoming the youngest person to hold the office at the time.
Over more than two decades at the centre of Israeli politics, Netanyahu has become one of the country’s most influential and polarising figures. He surpassed Israel’s founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, as the country’s longest-serving premier in 2019 and has now spent more than 18 years in office across his various terms.
Netanyahu’s latest announcement comes as he seeks to capitalize on what he has described as major security achievements against Iran and its regional allies. At a separate press conference on Monday, he defended his government’s military campaigns and argued that Israel had significantly weakened Tehran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
The election is expected to be heavily shaped by questions surrounding national security, the future of the US-Iran agreement brokered by Trump and Netanyahu’s own leadership after years of war and political turbulence.
