Voting on Tuesday offers little relief to Israel's 2 million Palestinian citizens

Palestinian citizens of Israel face a stark choice in the general election held on Tuesday, October 27. While the vote pits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against former general Gadi Eisenkot for the majority of the country, it presents a different dilemma for the 20 percent of the population that identifies as Palestinian.

For these voters, the election is not a simple contest between right and center. The anti-Netanyahu bloc led by Eisenkot does not promise a reversal of policies that have eroded Palestinian rights. As the political mainstream shifts further to the right, many question whether casting a ballot can alter the trajectory of their communities.

The pressure on Palestinian citizens has intensified in recent years. Since 2021, religious-nationalist settler groups have moved into Palestinian neighborhoods in mixed cities such as Jaffa and Lydd. This expansion accelerated after October 2023. In August, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a plan to add one million Jewish residents to the Naqab and northern Israel. His proposal calls for 40 new settlements, dozens of farms, and hundreds of thousands of new housing units.

Security measures are also tightening. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has issued 300,000 gun licenses since taking office. His department is developing the National Guard, a force created in response to the May 2021 Dignity Uprising. The guard is expected to play a larger role in policing Palestinian towns, a shift that raises concerns about the right to protest.

Violence from criminal networks has also surged. Organized crime groups have obtained advanced weapons reportedly stolen from army stockpiles or smuggled across borders. This militarization of crime has claimed hundreds of lives, often while Israeli law enforcement looked away. The state has effectively outsourced brutality to these networks, a pattern that differs from the direct violence seen in the West Bank and Gaza.

Historical attempts to influence policy through coalition have yielded limited results. The United Arab List (Ra’am) joined the government formed after the 2021 elections, excluding Netanyahu. However, the party failed to enact fundamental changes. In 2022, Ra’am member Mazen Ghnaim publicly admitted he could not push through beneficial policies despite being part of the ruling coalition.

The upcoming vote may slow the project of transformation, but it cannot reverse it. For many, the decision to vote is a pragmatic step to prevent another four years of far-right rule, even as the deeper structures of discrimination remain intact.