Gaza Residents Hope for Netanyahu's Ouster, but Doubt Israeli Election Will Spark Real Change

Residents of Gaza are closely following the final days of Israel's election campaign, experiencing a mix of anger, exhaustion, and profound skepticism. While they hope for the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power, there is little expectation that a new leader will usher in significant change.

A defeat for Mr. Netanyahu would provide a sense of emotional relief for many Palestinians who have endured years of bombing and destruction under his leadership. However, the prospect of a new Israeli government offers little optimism for those in Gaza who have lost homes, families, and livelihoods. They believe the plight of Gaza runs much deeper than electoral outcomes.

Their immediate concerns are focused on more pressing issues: securing permanent shelter, ensuring access to food and water, restoring essential services like schools and hospitals, and rebuilding a shattered economy. The collapse of the economy has left the civilian population heavily reliant on humanitarian aid.

"It makes no difference to us in Gaza who wins or loses the Israeli elections," stated Munir Isleem, a 35-year-old whose home in Gaza city's Shujaiya neighborhood was destroyed in the war. "What matters to us is escaping this life of tents and humiliation, and putting an end to the hunger and poverty that the war has forced upon us," he told The National.

Mr. Isleem, who has spent the last two years moving between displacement camps with his family, still wishes for Mr. Netanyahu's defeat. "The war Netanyahu launched against us didn’t just take away our homes. It robbed us of our happiness, our dearest friends and the people closest to us," he shared.

Prior to the war, Mr. Isleem was a skilled machine operator at a plastic factory, earning approximately $1,000 per month, which was sufficient to support his family. Now, unemployed and displaced, he depends on aid for survival. The war, he explained, "transformed us from productive people who worked and earned a living into unemployed people waiting for food from charity kitchens, humanitarian aid and our turn in the water queues."

Political Reality

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a challenging re-election bid, with numerous challengers, including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, and divisions within his own governing coalition.

While his handling of conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, the tensions with Iran, and the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023 have drawn criticism from rivals, few of these challengers advocate for Palestinian statehood or propose a fundamentally different military strategy. Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim commented that the election should not be viewed as a referendum on Palestinian rights or Gaza's future.

"I don’t believe the situation will change significantly whether Netanyahu wins or loses, because Israeli policy towards Gaza has remained largely consistent under successive governments throughout history," he said. He further noted that the stances of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Eisenkot represent different approaches to achieving Israeli security objectives, rather than a basic policy divergence concerning Palestinians.

"Ultimately the political approach and objectives remain the same, regardless of the individuals or governments in power," Mr. Ibrahim concluded. Like Mr. Isleem, he indicated that Palestinians in Gaza still desire Mr. Netanyahu's defeat, holding him primarily accountable for what they perceive as genocide against them. However, this sentiment does not automatically translate into support for other candidates.

Years of Disappointment

For Ahmed Sammour, a 61-year-old former Arabic teacher from Gaza city’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, skepticism towards Israeli elections is rooted in decades of experience. Mr. Sammour has lived under more than ten Israeli governments, witnessing periods of conflict and negotiation, yet none have delivered lasting security or freedom to Gaza.

"All of them have followed the same approach towards us as Palestinians," he stated. He recalled the Oslo Accords, signed by Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin in the 1990s, as a time when negotiations seemed to offer a new path. However, Mr. Rabin's assassination in 1995 by an Israeli extremist opposed to the peace process ended the optimism of that era.

Today, Mr. Sammour resides with his family in a camp near his destroyed home. He attributes the devastation to Mr. Netanyahu.

Even if someone with better policies towards Gaza wins and begins rebuilding the territory, it will still take years.

Amal Al Hinnawi

"The collapse of Netanyahu’s government and his defeat in the elections would certainly not represent a new beginning or a source of hope for us," Mr. Sammour said. "But at least we would be rid of a leader whom we hold responsible for killing children and innocent civilians." Mr. Sammour believes Mr. Netanyahu's government has caused destruction on an unprecedented scale compared to previous Israeli administrations.

Despite this, he remains hesitant to place his hopes in a successor. "Whoever comes after him will not necessarily be any better," he remarked.

Amal Al Hinnawi, a 25-year-old teacher at a tent school in northern Gaza, feels that the magnitude of the destruction has rendered the Israeli election results secondary to the monumental task of rebuilding. Ms. Al Hinnawi observes the war's impact on the education system, where makeshift classrooms have replaced traditional school buildings, and children struggle to continue their education amidst displacement and instability.

"Israeli elections no longer matter much to us in Gaza because it will take decades for our lives to return to what they were before the war," she stated. "Even if someone with better policies towards Gaza wins and begins rebuilding the territory, it will still take years because the scale of destruction across every sector is beyond description."