Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been named to Time magazine’s 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, the magazine announced on Wednesday.
It marks the fifth time the longest-serving premier has appeared on the annual list.
“Like President Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu once faced the political wasteland: the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, left the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the worst security failure in his country’s history. The political comeback he then engineered may have exceeded Trump’s own,” Time editor-at-large Ian Bremmer writes. “Israel’s devastation of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, its crippling strikes alongside the U.S. on Iran’s nuclear program in the [June 2025] 12-Day War, and the eventual extraction of all remaining hostages from Gaza have boosted his standing with the Israeli public.”
Bremmer continues: “This same legacy may also poison international attitudes toward his country. The staggering human toll in Gaza, ongoing West Bank settlement expansion, another incursion into Lebanon, and a darkening war with Iran eroded support among younger Americans—even as Washington remains Israel’s indispensable security partner.
“More chapters will soon be written, but Netanyahu has yet to resolve the tension at the center of his comeback: the actions that saved him politically will also define—and complicate—his legacy.”
Netanyahu is among roughly two dozen political leaders recognized this year, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pope Leo XIV. Also included are Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, among others.
