Gazans say nothing will change for them no matter who wins Israel ‘s election

But Palestinians on the Gaza Strip are showing little interest in the election because they believe any new government could potentially reflect a continuation of the same ideology.

A poll published by Israeli Channel 13 on Sunday predicted that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party will garner 28 seats in the 120-member legislature, while Yesh Atid’s party wins 20 seats, Yamina’s party will 11 seats, a New Hope party nine seats, the Arab Joint List mostly eight seats, and United Torah Judaism parties and Yisrael Beitenu seven seats each.

The English, Labor and Religious Zionism parties came in at six seats each in the study, while the Meretz, Blue and White, and Islamist Ra’am parties were expected to capture four orders.

Nasser Haniya, a resident of the Gaza Strip, denied whether there was any change in Israel’s attitude towards the Palestinians.

The reality of Palestine “will not be changed by the change of government of Israel, as the Zionist entity adopts specific policies that seek to invade Palestinians and expand at the expense of the Palestinian territories,” he said. .

“Any forthcoming elections will not change that residential view, not for the Palestinian cause, or for any other Arab or Islamic elections.”

Abu Mohammad al-Balawi, 42, said: “I don’t care who wins because they are all the same as me. Even if they were from the outside, I would only worry if the winners lifted the ban- trade imposed on the strip more than 14 years ago! ”

Abdellatif al-Qanou, criticizing Hamas in Gaza, said: “Israeli elections mean nothing to us. All the Zionist parties competing for the opposing government are the same and do not differ in their policies towards. ”

“They are all competing to defeat our people, kill them and steal our resources, but we [in Hamas] confirm that our struggle against the post will continue until all Palestinian territory is liberated, ”Qanou said.

Analysts, too, say that no matter who leads the next government, Israel will maintain its position and views on issues of importance to Palestinians.

Adnan Abu Amer, a Gaza-based political analyst and Israeli expert, said: “For Israel, key issues such as Jerusalem, refugees and settlements are considered non-negotiable and beyond debate as they have been. an essential part of the well-known Israelis. political worldview. “

With the growing movement towards the right side in the Israeli population, any shift of candidates from those policies would mean losing the election, he said.

“Israeli candidates know that there is a big, public movement on the right side, so they will try to get the right votes even if it is against their political beliefs. A vivid example of this was seen when some candidates campaigned in the West Bank settlements, hoping to collect votes, ”said Abu Amer.

Netanyahu promised on Sunday, during a visit to the Givat Harel site in the Binyamin district of the West Bank, “I swear by you: If I form a strong right-wing government without a move [in the position of prime minister], I take care of the settlements and the authority of the young settlements, ”or the outlying sites.

The electoral leadership of right-wing movements will have a major impact on Palestinian political outlook, according to Abu Amer.

“Most of the rival parties are either on the right or on the far right, as the center and left camp have disintegrated and disappeared, so the competition is fierce. -now among the most isolated of Israelis, “he said.

“That is why we see even more racist protests revealed in the calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank, annex plans, blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state, burying Jerusalem affairs and the refugees, and the gradual abolition of the Palestinian Authority and the reduction of its powers to a minimum, ”he said.

Israel’s policy towards the Gaza Strip in particular is undermined by the security approach.

“Security and military standards in Israel are convinced that the best way to deal with the coastal crisis is to allow things to continue unabated, in a state of‘ no-war-no-peace ’. .This policy governs the entire political and military establishment in Israel, whether led by Netanyahu, Gideon Sa’ar or Benny Gantz…, but each and every party would bear the consequences and their own leadership, ”said Abu Amer, citing the heads of some of the right-wing parties.

Whether there will be major changes to the political reality in the Gaza Strip in the near future, Abu Amer said: “Of course there will be a change if Netanyahu succeeds with governors who are even more just, but no one knows. about the nature of that change while the military base has control over its relationship with Gaza. “

“We should not forget other fundamental factors related to the results of the upcoming Palestinian elections and the future of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Palestinian legislative elections are currently scheduled for May and primary elections for July. This is the first Palestinian elections in 16 years.