'The Consolidation'), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (Hebrew: הַלִּיכּוּד – תנועה לאומית ליברלית, romanized: HaLikud – Tnu'ah Leumit Liberalit), is a major right-wing political party in Israel.

Likud's landslide victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power.

Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu won the vote for prime minister in 1996 and was given the task of forming a government after the 1996 elections following Yitzak Rabin's assassination.

[28] Likud won the most seats at the 2020[29] and 2021 elections, but Netanyahu was removed from power in June 2021 by an unprecedented coalition led by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett.

Menachem Begin formed a government with the support of the religious parties, consigning the left wing to opposition for the first time since independence.

[49] He was replaced by Yitzhak Shamir, a former commander of the Lehi underground, who defeated Deputy Prime Minister David Levy in a leadership election held by Herut's central committee.

[58] To replace him, the party held its first primary election,[59] in which former United Nations Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu[60] defeated David Levy, Benny Begin and Moshe Katsav, becoming the Leader of the Opposition.

[61] In 1995, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, his temporary successor, decided to call early elections in order to give the government a mandate to advance the peace process.

Seven candidates had declared themselves as contenders to replace Sharon as leader: Netanyahu,[83] Uzi Landau,[84] Shaul Mofaz,[85] Yisrael Katz,[86] Silvan Shalom and Moshe Feiglin.

[105] Following Kadima's withdrawal from the government and amid disagreements related to the 2013 budget, the Knesset was dissolved in October 2012 and a snap election was called for January 2013.

[113] The government collapsed in December 2014 due to disagreements over the budget and the proposed Nation-state bill,[114][115] triggering a snap election the next year.

Likud's willingness to enter mutually accepted agreements with neighboring countries over the years is related to the formation of other right-wing parties.

Like other right-wing parties in Israel, Likud politicians have sometimes criticized particular Supreme Court decisions, but it remains committed to rule of law principles that it hopes to entrench in a written constitution.

"[134][135] The 1999 Likud Party platform emphasized the right of settlement: The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values.

[137] According to Time, "Netanyahu has hinted that he does not oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, but aides say he must move cautiously because his religious-nationalist coalition partners refuse to give away land.

After having been criticised by U.S. White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest for the "divisive rhetoric" of his election campaign, on 19 March 2015, Netanyahu retreated to "I don't want a one-state solution.

[citation needed] The Likud party claims to support a free market capitalist and liberal agenda, though, in practice, it has mostly adopted mixed economic policies.

[143] Likud has historically espoused opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Yitzhak Shamir was the first Israeli prime minister to meet Palestinian leaders at the Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

[144] On 14 June 2009, as Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which he endorsed a "Demilitarized Palestinian State", though said that Jerusalem must remain the unified capital of Israel.

In 2005 Ariel Sharon defied the recent tendencies of Likud and abandoned the policy of seeking to settle in the West Bank and Gaza.

Though losing a referendum among Likud registered voters, Sharon achieved government approval of this policy by firing most of the cabinet members who opposed the plan before the vote.

The basic premise of the policy was that the Israelis have no viable negotiating partner on the Palestinian side, and since they cannot remain in indefinite occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel should unilaterally withdraw.

Most current Likud members support the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose Palestinian statehood and the disengagement from Gaza.

[151] In the 2019 elections Likud was widely criticized as a "racist party" after scaremongering anti-Arab rhetoric by its members as well as Netanyahu who claimed minority Arabs and Palestinians in Israel as "threats" and "enemies".

Its support for populist economic programs are at odds with its free enterprise tradition, but are meant to serve its largely nationalistic, lower-income voters in small towns and urban neighborhoods.

A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz Sheva ("Channel 7").

[165][166] However, since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Likud has been divided, with party leader Netanyahu seeking to maintain working relations with Russia and avoid involvement in the conflict,[167][168] while some MKs, such as Nir Barkat and Yuli Edelstein, have advocated closer alignment with the West against Russia and support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

[169][170] The Likud government during the 2010s advocated closer ties with Japan, China and India, in order to reduce Israel's dependency on Western Europe.

[68] Prior to the 2006 election, the Likud's Central Committee relinquished control of selecting the Knesset list to the "rank and file" members at Netanyahu's behest.