How Israel’s elections will affect Palestinians

Will this checkpoint remain open for Palestinians? That's an Israeli decision. This illegal settlement, will it expand? That, too, is Israel's call. More than 5.5 million Palestinians live under Israel's military occupation. They cannot vote in Israeli elections, but nearly every detail of their lives is dictated by them. So how are these elections going to affect Palestinians? On Gaza, there is little difference between the current coalition and the opposition. So the siege, assassinations and ban on rebuilding are expected to continue. When we talk about the occupied West Bank, though, the approach may differ depending who's in power. A win for Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc will likely deepen annexation, forcible displacement of Palestinians and other violations in defiance of the international community. And that's an approach his opponents have criticized. So if the opposition wins, they are expected to rely on diplomacy to improve Israel's image abroad. Except for one, all opposition leaders oppose a Palestinian state. So changes to Palestinians' lives and how they became unbearable will likely be cosmetic and not fundamental. If no camp secures enough majority to form a government, then the current one will continue and same policies will resume. When violence against Palestinians and incitement against them is being used to boost politicians' popularity, Palestinians say without real pressure from the international community on Israel, any progress will not come from within Israel.