The Impact of Revisionist Zionist Ideology on Shaping the Political Thoughts and Actions of Benjamin Netanyahu

This article highlights the impact of the Zionist ideology of Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu,who has captured a great attention worldwide, on shaping his political thoughts. Thus, it is important to understand Mr. Netanyahu’s ideology and beliefs and how they shaped his political thoughts and the decisions he made. Precisely, the objectives of this study are (1) to highlight the impact of the revisionist Zionist movement on shaping the ideological and political thinking of the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the most influential extension of this Zionist current since its establishment in the 20th century, (2) to identify the ideological fundamentals of Revisionsit Zionism, (3) to analyze the development of Mr.Netanyahu’s political speech as well as his actions and behaviors based on such fundamentals, and (4) to find out the impact of such ideology on drawing the Israeli policies towards the region in general and the Palestinians in particular. To achieve these objectives, a mixed methodology was used. To collect the quantitative data, secondary data issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and Reports from Al Jazeera Media Network were analyzed. The qualitative data, however, was obtained using content analysis tool by analyzing 23 speeches for Netanyahu of which 6 were major speeches and press conferences conducted by him Netanyahu between 2023 and 2025. The results of this study showed that Netanyahu policies cannot be explained only based on the political pragmatic policies or the situational judgments only. They they were certainly a consistent ideological extension to the Revisionist Zionist ideology. The results showed that such ideology did contribute to instilling a very strict military-security approach and a sustainable rejection of any political just settlement with the Palestinians. This study also showed a strong relationship between the Revisionist Zionism ideology and the political practices of the government of the occupying State of Israel.

Revisionist Zionist Movement, Zionist Ideology

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