Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in office for 13 years and 128 days as of Saturday, has become the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Israel, surpassing the record set by the country's founding father David Ben Gurion.

Born in 1949, Netanyahu took part in a raid on Beirut's airport in 1968 and fought in the 1973 Middle East war as a captain in an elite commando unit of the Israeli army.  

He served as Israel's deputy chief of mission in Washington and permanent representative at the United Nations in New York in the 1980s. 

In 1996, Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, became Israel's youngest-ever prime minister at the age of 46, but lost office to Labor leader Ehud Barak in an early election in 1999. 

After a decade of twists and turns in his political career, Netanyahu returned as Israel's prime minister in 2009 and has been leading the country since then. 

However, the veteran politician faces critical challenges this year. He failed to win enough seats to form a coalition after a general election in April and is leading an interim government. With Israel going back to polls on September 17, the prime minister is likely to struggle to form a majority once again as his rivals try to cobble together a coalition. 

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is facing a series of corruption charges and calls for him to resign.  

Will these troubles bring an end to his record-breaking tenure in the coming month? Polls suggest a big possibility, an article on The Economist said on Thursday.

Explaining the longevity of Netanyahu's premiership, Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East analyst in the U.S. State Department, called him a "very effective prime minister" in many areas. 

"He (Netanyahu) has brought relative economic stability and growth, security, and a dramatic expansion of Israel’s diplomatic footprint during a time of tremendous regional and international instability," Miller wrote in an article on Foreign Policy Magazine recently. 

"And yet despite his vanity, vindictiveness, and selfishness, his alleged corruption, and his all-consuming obsession with power, enough Israelis believe he's also delivered on keeping Israel relatively safe, secure, and prosperous," Miller added, noting that there has been no major Arab-Israeli war during Netanyahu's past decade in power.

Netanyahu visited China as Israeli prime minister in 1998, 2013 and 2017. During his latest trip, the two countries agreed to elevate their relationship to an "innovative comprehensive partnership." 

Netanyahu has repeatedly underscored Israel's enthusiasm in taking part in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and said his country expects Beijing to play a greater role in Middle East affairs. 

Last October, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and Netanyahu co-chaired the 4th Meeting of China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation during Wang's visit to Israel.

Netanyahu told Wang that Israel is willing to actively participate in the BRI and enhance the synergy between its strength in science and technology and China's advantages in market and production capacity. 

Israel values China's positive role in the Middle East peace process, he stressed. 

(Graphics by Zhang Xuecheng) 

(Cover: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the press in Jerusalem, February 28, 2019. /VCG Photo)