How Netanyahu reshaped Israel after 18 years in power

In Israel, right-wing supporters call him King Bibi. The opposition says Benjamin Netanyahu is the king of security failures and corruption. Either way, it's hard to dispute that Israel's longest-serving prime minister has left his mark on the country's institutions and politics, expanding the right-wing base from 29% when he first took office to the current 73%. Benjamin Netanyahu kicked off his political career in the mid-90s by fueling anger at possible peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria. The tactic worked, and he became prime minister in 1996. Over the years, his transactional leadership style gave prominence to extreme right and religious parties that are now an indispensable part of his right-wing alliance. In 2018, the Knesset passed the so-called nation-state basic law, which states, among other things, that Israel is the exclusive state of the Jewish people. It makes advancing illegal settlements a national priority. International experts and human rights organizations cite this law as evidence of the crime of apartheid. Benjamin Netanyahu also re-engineered state institutions, including Israel's security establishment, appointing loyalists and political allies to senior positions. Under his leadership, the Knesset adopted legislation that changed the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to ensure greater political influence for the governing coalition. It was part of a judicial overhaul which sparked wide-scale protest, a push to curtail the independence of the high court and give politicians influence over the courts and ministerial legal advisers. Netanyahu tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to fire the attorney general, but he succeeded in dismissing the military's advocate general for leaking a video of Israeli soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian detainee. It took Netanyahu nearly 20 years to bring about these formative changes. The opposition says it will undo what it describes as the damage he's caused, but reversing such a legacy may be easier said than done.