Israeli Election Results Defy Polls, Bolster Netanyahu's Coalition

The actual results of the Israeli elections have defied all opinion polls and television forecasts, delivering a "good omen" to the war and settlement government led by Netanyahu. The Zionist coalition secured a Jewish/Zionist majority of 53 seats to 48, positioning Netanyahu to form the next government. This outcome is further solidified by a consensus among Zionists to delegitimize Arab votes, which would otherwise increase the number of votes against Netanyahu to 66. The article notes that Arab Palestinian citizens' electoral behavior also exceeded expectations, achieving a voting rate unseen since the 1950s, when the Nakba and military rule drove turnout to 90%.

The elections took place amidst Israel's ongoing war on multiple fronts, which Netanyahu and his security establishment view as including Palestinians within Israel. This prolonged conflict, ongoing since October 7, 2023, coupled with inflammatory, racist media campaigns against Palestinians and Arabs, has militarized Israeli society and pushed it rapidly to the right. The article attributes this shift to the nature of the settler-colonial project, which has not achieved its goal of eradicating the indigenous population and continues to fight for it, with political factions united in rejecting any political settlement that grants Palestinians their rights.

Consequently, Israeli society is moving towards the far-right, embracing a settler-religious ideology that advocates for controlling all of historic Palestine and rejecting any political compromise. The article argues that the secular Zionist left, represented by parties like the Labor Party, has failed to advance the peace process initiated at Oslo, leading to its political demise. The lack of a clear political agenda has characterized alternative parties led by figures like Lapid, Gantz, Bennett, and Eizenkot, making them unable to present a viable alternative to Netanyahu's Likud party, which has adopted a settler-religious stance.

This political vacuum has led to the repeated inclusion of these parties in Likud-led governments, re-establishing Netanyahu's power. Benny Gantz, who presented himself as an alternative to Netanyahu, is now out of the political race after his party withdrew from the current elections due to anticipated failure, a fate shared by several former generals who were politically sidelined by Netanyahu due to their lack of a distinct political platform. General Eizenkot faces a similar crossroads as Gantz did in 2020, when he was recommended to form a government with Arab support but ultimately joined Netanyahu's unity government.

The article highlights that despite an increase in Arab representation in the Knesset from 15 to 19 seats, the situation has not changed, emphasizing the deep-seated anti-Arab sentiment within Israeli society and its political leadership. This animosity extends to all Arabs, whom they perceive as enemies and a front in their ongoing wars. The Shin Bet has reportedly begun efforts to delegitimize Arab votes by linking them to Qatari funding, prompting an investigation by the Shin Bet chief and the election committee head. This is seen as an extension of Netanyahu's campaign against alleged election theft and a mobilization tactic to counter the Arab vote. The prevailing discourse in Israeli media points towards a national unity government, especially given the ongoing war and potential escalation with Iran, which is expected to compel General Eizenkot to join an emergency government that will effectively become a national unity government, following the path of other generals who have been politically impacted by Netanyahu.