Assassination, suicide bombings and a less than 1% margin: Netanyahu's first PM win in 1996
As Netanyahu seeks another term, here's a look at how the election that first brought him to power shaped a defining moment in Israeli politics.
- ✓As Netanyahu seeks another term, here's a look at how the election that first brought him to power shaped a defining moment in Israeli politics.
- ✓On May 29, 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu defeated then incumbent prime minister Shimon Peres in Israel’s first direct election.
- ✓Netanyahu secured 50.4% of the vote against Peres’s 49.5%, winning by 0.98%.
- ✓The result came after six months of political upheaval.
A murdered prime minister, a wave of suicide bombings and an election decided by less than one percentage point: these shaped Israel’s 1996 contest which brought Benjamin Netanyahu to power for the first time. On May 29, 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu defeated then incumbent prime minister Shimon Peres in Israel’s first direct election.
(AP Photo)With the incumbent seeking reelection, it brings to mind how public anxiety and bitter debates over peace laid the groundwork for his rise. On May 29, 1996, Netanyahu, then leader of the opposition Likud party, defeated incumbent Prime Minister Shimon Peres in Israel’s first direct election for prime minister.
Netanyahu secured 50.4% of the vote against Peres’s 49.5%, winning by 0.98%. The result came after six months of political upheaval. While former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination had shaken the country and briefly strengthened support for the Labour Party, a series of suicide bombings in early 1996 put security at the forefront of the campaign and weakened Peres’s position.
Also Read | The seat arithmetic and the steps that will decide who forms Israel’s next government On November 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin attended a large peace rally in Tel Aviv. The rally, held under the message “Yes to Peace - No to Violence”, supported his efforts to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.
As Rabin left the event and walked towards his car, Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist allegedly opposed to the peace process, fired three shots at him. Two of them hit him. Rabin later died at a hospital, The Guardian reported at the time.
Rabin had led key negotiations that produced the Oslo Accords, through which Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mutually recognised each other and agreed on a framework for Palestinian self-government and further negotiations.
In 1994, Rabin, Peres and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts towards peace. The assassination left Peres, Rabin’s long-time political partner and foreign minister, to lead the government.
He became prime minister and continued to support the peace process. The assassination also changed the political atmosphere ahead of the next election. Netanyahu, then in his forties, led the opposition against Rabin and campaigned against the Oslo Accords.
Some Labour supporters accused Netanyahu and other right-wing politicians of helping create an atmosphere of hostility towards Rabin before the assassination, according to a report in Le Monde. Also Read | Israel exit polls put Netanyahu-led bloc ahead as Opposition trails, but no clear majority In the months after Rabin’s death, Peres and the Labour Party benefited from a wave of public sympathy.
That support, though, faced a new test in early 1996, when a series of suicide bombings killed civilians and brought the issue of security to the forefront of the election campaign. On February 25, 1996, suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon killed 25 people, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).
The attacks changed the campaign almost immediately. In a news analysis published two days later, JTA reported that opinion polls showed a surge in support for Netanyahu’s Likud party after the bombings. Netanyahu had been trailing Peres by a wide margin before the attacks, but the gap narrowed sharply in the aftermath.
The attacks were allegedly by Palestinian militant groups opposed to the peace process. Further attacks in March deepened public concern. Peres led Netanyahu by 16 percentage points in a poll shortly before the February 25 bombings, a Washington Post report said.
After the attacks, that lead fell sharply, and Netanyahu briefly moved ahead in some surveys. Netanyahu then made those concerns the crux of his campaign. He said that Israel needed a tougher approach to terrorism and criticised the government's handling of the peace process.
His campaign promoted the idea of a “secure peace”. Peres, meanwhile, sought to continue the negotiations begun under Rabin. His government said that the peace process offered a path towards stability and a regional settlement.
The bombings though made it harder for Peres to convince voters that the process could protect them from attacks. Also Read | The options before Israel: A Netanyahu-Eisenkot deal, a minority government or no new government
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| Issuing Authority | Hindustan Times World |
|---|---|
| Topic Category | POLITICS |
| Jurisdiction | All India / National |
| Publication Date | 28 October 2026 |