How the Elections EXPOSED ISRAEL

Israel’s Election Exposes a Problem Bigger Than Netanyahu Israel’s latest election has failed to produce a clear majority, while millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation remain denied a vote in the government exercising power over their lives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, remains a leading contender. But his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, has a similarly troubling record. Eisenkot is closely associated with the Dahiya doctrine, a military strategy advocating overwhelming force and widespread destruction. He joined Israel’s war cabinet in October 2023, helping oversee the devastating assault on Gaza. He has also called Palestinian statehood a “grave mistake” and defended illegal Israeli settlements as a national interest. While Western media often portray Netanyahu as Israel’s central problem, his policies reflect a much broader political and institutional consensus. A 2024 poll found that approximately 95% of Jewish Israelis believed Israel’s military response in Gaza was either appropriate or insufficiently forceful. The findings expose the depth of public support for the military campaign. Replacing Netanyahu may change the face of Israel’s leadership, but not necessarily the military, political and judicial structures that have sustained decades of occupation and Palestinian dispossession.