Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government have a problem. True, Western leaders are still supporting the campaign of destruction and ethnic cleansing in Gaza — as well as expansionist wars such as the recent twelve-day conflict with Iran. Yet ahead of the Israeli elections expected next year, Netanyahu and his allies aren’t leading the polls.
The October 7 debacle, preceded by government attempts to dismantle the judiciary, has deeply damaged the far right’s standing in Israeli public opinion. Even the war with Iran, which most Israelis viewed as a successful campaign, failed to significantly shift the country’s electoral landscape.
A poll conducted on June 24 by Channel 12 news, one day after the hostilities with Iran ended, forecasts that the governing coalition will secure just forty-nine out of 120 seats in the next election. While Netanyahu’s own standing within his bloc improved, the coalition as a whole remains far from a majority.
This precarious position has led the far right to seek undemocratic ways to retain power. Their main target is the Palestinian representatives in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and the anti-occupation left. Without us — the ten to fifteen seats representing the Palestinian minority — the far right could guarantee itself a structural majority.
This reality drives the coalition to accelerate long-standing moves to push Arab lawmakers out of the political arena. These efforts include legislative and procedural maneuvers in the Knesset, incitement campaigns, structural discrimination in access to polling stations in Arab communities, and plans for police intimidation on Election Day.
This creeping process, shrouded in the fog of war, threatens to entrench Netanyahu’s catastrophic…
Auteur: Aida Touma-Suleiman
