Israel

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
People
- Religious and ethnic groups
  - Jews
    - Karaites
    - Samaritans
  - Arabs
    - Muslims
    - Christians
    - Druze
  - Other groups
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Resources
  - Mineral resources
  - Power
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Industry
  - Mining and quarrying
  - Manufacturing
- Services
  - Finance
  - Tourism
- Trade
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local and regional government
- Political process
- Occupation of Arab territories
- Justice
- The armed forces
- Education
- Health and welfare
Cultural life
- The cultural milieu
- The arts
- Sports
- Cultural institutions
- Press and broadcasting
History
- Origins of a modern Jewish state
  - Zionism
  - Immigration and conflict
- Establishment of Israel
  - The war of 1948
  - Armistice and refugees
- The Ben-Gurion era
  - Emergence of a nation
  - Continuing tensions
  - The Suez War
- Labour rule after Ben-Gurion
  - The Six-Day War
  - Troubled victory
  - The war of attrition
- The decline of Labour dominance
  - The Yom Kippur War
  - Political and social repercussions of the war
  - Diplomatic impasse
- Israel under Likud
  - The beginning of the peace process
  - Camp David
  - A cold peace
  - War in Lebanon
- The national unity government
  - The intifada
  - The question of Palestinian autonomy
  - The Gulf War and the Madrid Conference
- The Rabin government
  - The Oslo Accords
    - The Declaration of Principles and Cairo Agreement
    - Challenges to peace
  - Economic boom
  - Oslo II and Rabin’s assassination
- A new political landscape
  - Netanyahu’s first premiership
    - Crisis in the peace process
    - The Wye River Memorandum
  - The Barak gamble
  - The second intifada
  - Kadima and Olmert
- Netanyahu’s second stint
  - Early challenges
  - Relations with the Palestinians
    - Peace process stalled
    - Palestinian unilateral bid for statehood
    - Conflict in Gaza
  - Domestic politics
    - Socioeconomic protests and the challenge from the center-left
    - Corruption charges and diminishing political support
    - Difficulty in coalition formation, frequent elections, and growing prominence of minority issues
- The Bennett-Lapid government
  - Premiership of Naftali Bennett
  - Premiership of Yair Lapid
- A changing society
Prime ministers of Israel

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For Students

Israel summary

Prime ministers of Israel

in Israel

Also known as: Isrāʾīl, Medinat Yisraʾel, State of Israel

Written by Eliahu Elath, Russell A. Stone•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 21, 2025 • Article History

News •

Asian shares climb and oil prices gain after a report Israel may attack Iran's nuclear facilities • May 21, 2025, 2:30 AM ET (AP)

Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense plan was inspired by Israel's multitiered defenses • May 21, 2025, 2:04 AM ET (AP)

Israeli strikes kill at least 85 in Gaza as Israel allows more aid into Palestinian territory • May 20, 2025, 10:18 PM ET (AP)

UK suspends free trade talks with Israel and announces sanctions over West Bank settlers • May 20, 2025, 9:24 PM ET (AP)

The Latest: US authorities appear to have begun deporting migrants to South Sudan, attorneys say • May 20, 2025, 7:47 PM ET (AP)

The table provides a chronological list of the prime ministers of Israel.

Prime ministers of Israel
prime minister	term
*From 1986 to 1990, Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister of Israel in alliance with Shimon Peres.
David Ben-Gurion (1st time)	1948–53
Moshe Sharett	1953–55
David Ben-Gurion (2nd time)	1955–63
Levi Eshkol	1963–69
Golda Meir	1969–74
Yitzhak Rabin (1st time)	1974–77
Menachem Begin	1977–83
Yitzhak Shamir (1st time)	1983–84
Shimon Peres (1st time)	1984–86
Yitzhak Shamir* (2nd time)	1986–92
Yitzhak Rabin (2nd time)	1992–95
Shimon Peres (2nd time)	1995–96
Benjamin Netanyahu (1st time)	1996–99
Ehud Barak	1999–2001
Ariel Sharon	2001–06
Ehud Olmert	2006–09
Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd time)	2009–21
Naftali Bennett	2021–22
Yair Lapid	2022
Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd time)	2022–