Israeli Elections ... Difficult Days for Palestinians

Author: Mouayed Afana

As the date of the Israeli elections approaches, scheduled for (90) days from now, at the end of October, the policies of suffocation and tightening pursued by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people are escalating, clearly attempting to bolster its electoral base and regain the trust of the Israeli voter, especially among the far-right crowd. Regardless of the differences between Israeli parties and their political programs, available indicators suggest that the electoral competition will push the current government to adopt even more escalatory policies.

In this context, the West Bank appears to be the most exposed arena for this escalation, through unleashing settler gangs, providing political and security protection for them, and imposing further restrictions on the lives of citizens, all aimed at entrenching new field realities that serve the settlement project. This escalation is not limited to security and field aspects but extends to deepening the systematic economic suffocation policy targeting the undermining of Palestinian resilience. Israel has been withholding clearance revenues entirely for the past (15) months, following years of partial deductions. As a result, the Palestinian funds withheld by Israel have exceeded (6) billion dollars, an amount that exceeds the total value of the Palestinian public budget for the year 2026.

This is coupled with escalating threats to end the banking relationship between Palestinian banks and Israeli correspondent banks, prompting the Palestinian Monetary Authority to warn of reaching a "point of no return." The crisis of the accumulation of shekels continues to shackle the Palestinian economy, while the majority of Palestinian workers remain deprived of returning to their jobs inside the Green Line. Additionally, the West Bank continues to be severed through checkpoints and closures, and the expansion of settlement grazing aims to control more Palestinian land.

Collectively, these policies have led to an unprecedented reality of economic and social suffocation, reflected in the deepening of psychological and social pressures burdening Palestinians in various aspects of their daily lives, creating daily crises. These measures are no longer limited to managing conflict or exercising political pressures, but have become a systematic policy targeting the weakening of the factors of Palestinian existence and creating an environment repulsive to life, in line with Israeli trends seeking to impose new demographic and geographic realities on the ground.

Although these facts have become widely known, the real concern lies in the likelihood that the pace of these policies will escalate further with the intensification of the Israeli election fever, where the competition for attracting far-right votes turns into a race to adopt more stringent measures against the Palestinians. Consequently, the upcoming phase may witness further economic, political, and security pressures, enforcing a shift from crisis management to adopting a comprehensive national strategy based on proactive planning and enhancing resilience.

From this perspective, the need arises to adopt a comprehensive national strategy to bolster the resilience of the Palestinian people, based on genuine partnership among all components of the Palestinian spectrum, ensuring the unification of efforts and integration of roles in confronting escalating challenges. It is also critical to launch a wide international campaign to mobilize support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, revealing the human and economic ramifications of Israeli policies, while simultaneously working to initiate an international emergency fund to support the Palestinian public budget, amidst a crisis that has exceeded its financial dimensions to touch on existential aspects that necessitate urgent action.

On the internal front, the current phase requires enhancing the cohesion of the internal front, supporting the steadfastness of citizens, strengthening the national economy, and expanding the contribution of the private sector to social responsibility. Additionally, it necessitates broadening the scope of social protection networks and empowering local authorities as they are closest to the citizens and their needs, and reinstating the national role of political parties and civil society institutions in solidifying the values of solidarity and mutual aid and enhancing the resilience of the Palestinian community.

In conclusion, historical experiences have proven that betting on individual survival cannot provide a future for a people facing a colonial project targeting its existence and identity. Therefore, collective resilience, based on a unified stance and the integration of roles, remains the most capable option to protect the Palestinian identity and enhance its ability to withstand the Israeli policies aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land and undermining the factors of their existence.