The Israeli regime is heading into a closely contested election on Tuesday, with Netanyahu seeking to extend his rule amid growing scrutiny over the genocide in Gaza, regional wars and allegations of security failures, while the mainstream opposition offers little prospect of a fundamental shift in the Israeli regime’s policies toward Palestinians.
The vote is the first since the start of October 2023 genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 people. Israel has also launched attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Qatar, widening the regional consequences of its military campaigns.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is fighting for political survival while facing a corruption trial and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over war crimes in Gaza. His government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, has relied on far-right ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
However, the opposition seeking to replace Netanyahu remains firmly within the Zionist political mainstream, with little indication that a change of government would end the occupation or reverse policies targeting Palestinians.
“The entire Israeli political system operates within the racist framework of Jewish supremacy,” Israeli sociologist Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani told Al Jazeera.
He argued that the roots of this system extend beyond Netanyahu, pointing to the 2018 Nation-State Law, the expansion of illegal settlements and the systematic erosion of Palestinian rights.
Meanwhile, occupation forces continue deadly attacks in Gaza despite a declared ceasefire, while settler violence and Israeli military raids intensify across the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian rights absent from election debate
The campaign has focused on Netanyahu’s leadership, security failures, judicial changes and disputes over military service, rather than accountability for the genocide in Gaza or the future of Palestinian self-determination.
Arab-led parties also face exclusion from potential governing coalitions, exposing what critics describe as the discriminatory limits of Israel’s political system.
Daniel Levy, a former Israeli government adviser, said the election was not a referendum on the treatment of Palestinians.
“The treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli state and military is a consensus among Zionist parties,” Levy said.
Analysts warn that replacing Netanyahu may change the political atmosphere without fundamentally altering the Israeli regime’s direction. The election offers voters a choice between competing political leaderships, but no clear alternative to the occupation, settlement expansion and policies that have devastated Palestinian communities.