Editing Prime Minister of Israel (section)

===2003 onwards===
The [[2003 Israeli legislative election|2003 elections]] were carried out in the same manner as prior to 1996. Likud won 38 seats, the highest by a party for over a decade, and as party leader Sharon was duly appointed Prime Minister. However, towards the end of his term and largely as a result of the deep divisions within Likud over [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza|Israel's unilateral disengagement plan]], Sharon broke away from his party to form [[Kadima]], managing to maintain his position as prime minister and also becoming the first prime minister not to be a member of either Labour or Likud (or their predecessors). However, he suffered a stroke in January 2006, in the midst of election season, leading [[Ehud Olmert]] to become acting prime minister in the weeks leading to the elections. He was voted by the cabinet to be interim prime minister just after the [[2006 Israeli legislative election|2006 elections]], when Sharon had reached 100 days of incapacitation. He thus became Israel's third interim prime minister, only days before forming his own new government as the official Prime Minister of Israel.

In 2008, amid accusations of corruption and challenges from his own party, Olmert resigned. However, his successor [[Tzipi Livni]] was unable to form a coalition government. In the [[2009 Israeli legislative election|election in the following year]], while Kadima won the most seats, it was the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who was given the task of forming a government. He was able to do so, thus beginning his second term as Prime Minister of Israel.

In the [[2013 Israeli legislative election|2013 election]], the [[Likud Yisrael Beiteinu]] alliance emerged as the largest faction. After forming a coalition, Netanyahu secured his third prime ministership. In [[2015 Israeli legislative election|2015]], Netanyahu managed to stay in power. Multiple disagreements with his coalition members led to the [[2018–2022 Israeli political crisis|2019–2022 Israeli political crisis]].

In 2021, [[Naftali Bennett]] became prime minister. He was succeeded in July 2022 by his coalition partner, [[Yair Lapid]]. In December 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the prime ministership, as a result of the [[2022 Israeli legislative election|previous month's election]].