Doubted by Trump, Netanyahu Confirms He Will Run Again in Israeli Elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will run again in Israel’s national elections. The decision was announced by the Likud party, the right-wing party led by Netanyahu. The announcement came after US President Donald Trump publicly questioned whether the 76-year-old would run in the election. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has led his country through three years of war and is currently on trial for corruption charges. ‘Prime Minister Netanyahu will run in the next election and, God willing, he will win,’ the party said on Telegram. The declaration followed Trump telling ABC News that he was unsure about Netanyahu’s intentions. ‘I don’t know, he has had an amazing career. Does he want to continue?’ Trump said. ‘Because, you know, he is a wartime prime minister,’ he added. Netanyahu had previously said he would run again in the election scheduled for late October. He has served as prime minister for almost two decades over several terms. Trump’s statement followed a crossfire between the two leaders days earlier, in which the US president berated his close ally in a profanity-laced outburst. Netanyahu, on the other hand, downplayed the exchange during an appearance on CNBC. Netanyahu’s political future is overshadowed not only by tensions with Washington but also by a series of health problems. He recently revealed that surgeons had successfully removed what he described as a ‘small, early-stage malignant tumour’ from his prostate. Netanyahu has been hospitalised several times since returning to office in December 2022, according to his office. In March 2024, he underwent hernia surgery, before undergoing prostate enlargement surgery in December of the same year. Netanyahu is currently waging war on three interlinked fronts. In Gaza, Israel continues military operations against Hamas despite a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory. In Lebanon, Israel is conducting a campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement despite a ceasefire there. Meanwhile, in Iran, Israel joined its ally, the US, in launching a wave of attacks that killed most of the country’s leadership and sparked a war that has spread across the region.