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Elections are to be held in Israel on 27 October. The public will decide whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s power will survive or go, but there is little hope that this election will bring any major change in the lives of Palestinians.
The reason is that most of the parties standing in opposition to Netanyahu are also not in favor of making Palestine a separate country. After the war in Gaza started, many resolutions against Palestinians got support in the Israeli Parliament.
Even the leftist parties which earlier used to talk about agreement with Palestine and the path towards two separate countries, are seeing a change in their agenda. In such a situation, despite the change in power, it seems difficult for the Palestinians to change the situation.
What do left and right mean in Israel?
In most countries of the world, leftist parties talk about helping the poor and weaker sections, increasing government expenditure and the rights of migrants. At the same time, right-wing parties emphasize on keeping the country’s borders strict, less government interference in business and national identity.
The difference between the left and the right in Israel has been mainly determined by their stance on Palestine. Left parties have been talking about resolving the dispute through talks with the Palestinians and reaching a compromise on land.
At the same time, right-wing parties oppose making Palestine a separate country and support the establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied areas.
However, now this has become a thing of the past. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israel’s politics has turned towards the right. At present the situation is that the left parties are not touching this issue at all.
How do parties and coalitions work in Israel?
The Parliament of Israel is called the Knesset. There are total 120 seats in it. Till date, no party has been able to win enough seats on its own to form the government alone.
The Prime Minister needs the support of at least 61 MPs to form the government. For this the largest party has to form an alliance with smaller parties.
Netanyahu’s current coalition
After the November 2022 elections, Netanyahu’s right-wing party Likud became the largest party with 32 seats. After this he formed an alliance of 64 seats.
The coalition included two far-right parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. Apart from this, the radical right-wing Religious Zionism alliance was also a part of the government. This included the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties.
This was considered the most extreme right-wing government in the history of Israel.
Bezalel Smotrich is the head of the Religious Zionism Party. He is the finance minister and also has authority over civil affairs in the occupied West Bank. These include matters related to planning of Jewish settlements.
Itamar Ben Gvir is the head of the Otzma Yehudit party. He has been the Minister of National Security and the police comes under his ministry.
Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir have called for the annexation of the occupied territories to Israel and the expansion of Jewish settlements there. Both the leaders have tried many times to implement their policies by threatening to withdraw support from the government.
Who is Israel’s opposition?
The opposition in Israel does not mean that all parties are leftist.
In the previous parliament, Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, was the largest opposition party. It had 24 seats. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party was the other major opposition party. Both parties are considered centrist.
Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party is secular and right-wing. Lieberman has previously been an ally of Netanyahu, but he opposes exempting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service.
The Labor Party is now part of the Democrats. In the previous parliament, it was the only Jewish party that openly supported the formation of two separate states to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
What is the stance of Arab parties?
Arab-led parties represent Palestinian citizens of Israel. Their political ideologies differ, but they oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Mansoor Abbas’s party Ram had created history by joining the Israeli government in 2021. It was the first Arab party to do so.
Hadash and the Tal Party never joined the Israeli government. In this election it is contesting in collaboration with another Arab party Balad.
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