Israel's Election Offers No Change for Palestinians Because Both Major Blocs Reject Palestinian Statehood
Source: Ambra Suriano. "Israel’s Election Offers a Bleak Future for the Palestinians." October 25, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that Israel's two main political camps differ on many issues but agree on refusing a Palestinian state and on prioritizing security. So whoever wins the election, Palestinians shouldn't expect their situation to improve. She says fear and militarism in Israeli society keep this consensus going.
Conclusion
Whichever bloc wins Israel's October 2026 election, Palestinians will see no change in Israel's occupation and denial of their basic rights and self-determination, because the electoral choice does not include a meaningful alternative on the Palestinian question.
Premises
- Both the Netanyahu-led coalition and Gadi Eisenkot's opposition explicitly reject a Palestinian state; Eisenkot has said that no Palestinian state will be established under a government he forms, and representatives of eight parties categorically reject the idea.
- The opposition's platform centers on national security (a new security doctrine, a stronger IDF, border reinforcement, becoming a regional power) and does not address Gaza's devastation, settler violence, or the Palestinians' right to self-determination.
- Israel has maintained a military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza since 1967 and has advanced de facto annexation through settlements, checkpoints, and a blockade, so the status quo involves systematic denial of Palestinian rights that neither bloc proposes to change.
- Israeli elites across the spectrum use a politics of fear and a sacralization of the military to mobilize public support, which sustains broad public acceptance of the occupation and indifference to Palestinian suffering.
- Colonial domination also shapes the colonizer's society, breeding racism, trauma, and intolerance that reinforce the pursuit of security over Palestinian rights and erode Israel's own democratic pluralism.
Assumptions
- Stated electoral positions and platforms reliably predict the behavior of a future government.
- Opposition to a Palestinian state is equivalent to denial of Palestinian self-determination and basic rights.
- The occupation is best characterized as colonial and as de facto annexation, and this framing is accurate.
- Public indifference and fear in Israeli society constrain political leaders from changing course.
- A security-focused platform without specifics implies no meaningful change in policy toward Palestinians.
- Fanon's analysis of colonialism's psychological effects applies to contemporary Israeli society.