When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopted his familiar campaign slogan, "The Right or Palestine," during the latest elections, he was seeking to turn voters against his rivals, Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman, claiming that they would grant Palestinians a state if they won and bring disaster upon Israel.
Regardless of how many Israelis believed Netanyahu's claims, Palestinians were never convinced. They know better than anyone that none of Israel's political leaders, whether from the far right, center-right or left, are prepared to grant them statehood or even autonomy at this stage.
Despite this widespread understanding, Palestinians have followed the elections minute by minute and are awaiting the final results with unprecedented interest. The next Israeli prime minister and the ministers serving alongside him will largely determine what life looks like in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the coming years.
An informed Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat: "We realize that no government will launch a political process at this stage. It is difficult and complicated, and none of them intends to grant us the right to self-determination and statehood. But we will never abandon that right, and we will continue struggling for it through every available means."
The source added: "Many other critical issues are at stake: the future of the Palestinian Authority, the economic situation, the future of the West Bank, security conditions there, settler terrorism, the future of the Gaza Strip, reconstruction and governance in Gaza. All these issues depend on the coalition that comes to power in Israel."
"If Netanyahu's right-wing coalition remains in power, with ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, we will face a difficult and complicated situation with an uncertain future. But if Gadi Eisenkot forms a government, or even if a unity government emerges without Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, we could see some relief," the source said.
The Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority is closely monitoring the electoral process and hoping for Eisenkot's success and Netanyahu's defeat.
It believes that improvements in security and economic conditions may be possible under any new Israeli government other than the current one.
A government willing to negotiate outstanding economic and security issues, release withheld Palestinian funds and resume regular financial transfers would be considered the lesser of two evils.
The Palestinian Authority has refrained from expressing this position publicly, maintaining silence and exercising considerable caution while describing the elections as an internal Israeli matter.
During the previous elections in 2022, the PA attempted to help defeat Netanyahu, prompting Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, to issue an explicit "stern warning" against interfering in the electoral process.
The warning followed a meeting between Palestinian intelligence chief Majed Faraj and leaders of Arab political parties in Israel.
Israeli officials said the meeting was intended to persuade the Arab parties to unite, while the PA maintained that the elections had not been discussed.
Israeli reports at the time said the PA had expressed concern to Arab party leaders that low Arab voter turnout could return Netanyahu to power at the head of a hardline right-wing government.
The reports also claimed that the Palestinian official had gone as far as accusing Arab lawmakers of failing to do enough to prevent such an outcome.
This time, the PA made no attempt to meet Arab political leaders. Nevertheless, it undoubtedly maintained channels of communication with them through various means.
The PA is pleased with the number of Knesset seats won by Arab parties, which effectively prevents Netanyahu from securing an outright victory.
The "Erasure Project"
Netanyahu led a far-right government that escalated its measures against Palestinians in the West Bank on multiple fronts while waging a bloody war in the Gaza Strip.
During this period, his government worked to weaken the Palestinian Authority, withheld its revenues and gave settlers a free hand to kill, attack and seize land in the West Bank.
It also advanced plans to expand existing settlements and establish new ones, connecting them through contiguous settlement corridors.
The government established approximately 1,000 military checkpoints and gates across the West Bank in an attempt to confine Palestinians within Area A.
Netanyahu's government also annulled the Hebron Agreement governing the West Bank's largest city and introduced an electronic land registration and rights settlement system in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The move marked a dramatic step that could deepen the annexation of the West Bank, leaving the Palestinian Authority without sovereignty and Palestinians without legal protection.
Together, these policies served what has been described as a project to "erase" Palestinians as a people.
According to an extensive investigation by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, this erasure project targets the Palestinian presence in the West Bank through an interconnected system of five measures: violence and intimidation, restrictions on movement, economic strangulation, political and social destruction, and ethnic cleansing and the seizure of territory.
"They Turned Our Lives into Hell"
Ahmed Taim, 50, from Ramallah in the West Bank, told Asharq Al-Awsat: "We don't expect any significant change from any government. They're all the same. But if people other than Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich come to power, things might improve when it comes to everyday life."
He added: "If they transfer the money to the Palestinian Authority, do more to restrain settlers, allow workers to return to their jobs in Israel, ease the pressure on the West Bank and reduce checkpoints and gates, that would make a huge difference to people's lives. That matters."
Palestinians in the West Bank are facing severe economic hardship, daily restrictions and delays at checkpoints, Israeli military operations and deadly settler attacks, making everyday life extremely difficult.
Mousa Awad, from Bethlehem, expressed hope that Arab parties would succeed in "sending Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich home."
"They have turned our lives into hell," he said.
The suffering has not been confined to Palestinians in the West Bank. It has also extended to prisoners in Israeli jails, where Ben-Gvir has deprived them of food, visits and privileges they previously enjoyed.
The mother of Palestinian prisoner Khaldoun Obeiyat said she prays every day for her son and for Ben-Gvir's departure.
"He has turned the prisons into graveyards. My heart burns for my son every time news reaches us from prison. God willing, he will leave and never return," she told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Palestinians will now have to wait weeks, perhaps longer, for Israel's political situation to be resolved. They may then face many more months of waiting before a new government, if one is formed, takes any significant measures affecting their lives.
