(Hebrew for "union") An
Israeli center-right political party that emerged out of the Revisionist Zionist movement, which focused on immediate Jewish settlement in the entire area of British mandate
Palestine. Throughout most of its history, Likud has been ideologically opposed to any territorial compromise with the Palestinians, has objected to a sovereign
Palestinian state, and has been a proponent of the settler movement and the Greater
Israel concept. Its first electoral victory for a majority in the Israeli parliament came in 1977. In 1978, Likud Prime Minster
Menachem Begin signed a peace treaty with Egypt, which involved Israeli military and civilian withdrawal from the
Sinai Peninsula. Begin soon after launched the 1982 War in Lebanon. In 1991, Likud Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir headed the Israeli negotiation team at the
Madrid Conference. More recent Likud leaders, such as
Benjamin Netanyahu, have led neo-liberalist economic measures. Dispute over Israel's unilateral
Gaza Disengagement in August 2005 led Likud Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon to leave the party and establish the
Kadima party, which rivaled the Likud and won in the 2006 elections. Likud came into power again in 2009. See the
Knesset website: "Likud," and "
Likud," YNet News, February 1, 2008.