Twenty-seventh government of Israel

First Netanyahu Cabinet
27th Cabinet of Israel
Date formed	18 June 1996 (1996-06-18)
Date dissolved	6 July 1999 (1999-07-06)
People and organisations
Head of state	Ezer Weizman
Head of government	Benjamin Netanyahu
Member parties	Likud Gesher Tzomet National Religious Party Yisrael BaAliyah Third Way Shas United Torah Judaism
Status in legislature	Government coalition
Opposition party	Labor
Opposition leader	Shimon Peres (until 1997) Ehud Barak (until 1999)
History
Election(s)	1996
Legislature term(s)	14th Knesset
Predecessor	26th cabinet of Israel
Successor	28th cabinet of Israel

The twenty-seventh government of Israel was formed by Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud on 18 June 1996. Although his Likud-Gesher-Tzomet alliance won fewer seats than Labor, Netanyahu formed the government after winning the country's first ever direct election for Prime Minister, narrowly defeating incumbent Shimon Peres. This government was the first formed by an Israeli national born in the state after independence in 1948 (the seventeenth government of 1974–1977 was the first to be formed by a native-born Israeli, although Rabin was born in the territory prior to independence).

Together with Likud-Gesher-Tzomet, Netanyahu also included Shas, the National Religious Party, Yisrael BaAliyah, United Torah Judaism and the Third Way in the government, with the coalition holding 66 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.^[1] The government was also supported, but not joined, by the two-seat Moledet faction. Gesher left the coalition on 6 January 1998, but the government remained in place until 6 July 1999, when Ehud Barak formed the twenty-eighth government after defeating Netanyahu in the 1999 election for Prime Minister.