A little over a month before Israelis head to the polls, West Bank Palestinians are watching the run-up to the election with anticipation.
Some describe the Israeli vote as decisive for their future, stressing that the election in Israel at the end of October matters more to them than their own scheduled elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which PA President Mahmoud Abbas has announced for November 28.
Ibrahim Za’oul is a Palestinian contractor from the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, who employs local workers. The outcome of Israel’s election is critical for tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers, he told The Jerusalem Post.
Since Hamas's massacre on October 7, 2023, Israel has barred West Bank workers from entering the country, except for a limited number employed in sectors that are considered essential.
“Everyone wants to return to their jobs in Israel and support their families,” Za’oul said. “People hope a new government might change the current policy and let them earn a living as before.”
Many Palestinian laborers believe the work ban could still be reversed, he said, adding: “For us, politics isn’t the issue. What people care about is their living conditions; they want to live with dignity.”
Elections open a gate for Palestinians
The Israeli election offers the potential for change, Za’oul said.
Some Israeli employers want Palestinian workers to return, he said. Many of these workers have been unable to find jobs in the West Bank and are struggling to make ends meet, and “No one wants to keep living like this,” he added.
Other Palestinians said the makeup of the next Israeli government was important because its policies would affect their daily lives.
“Our fate will be decided in Jerusalem, not Ramallah,” a PA employee who has worked in the public sector for more than three decades told the Post.
“The economic situation isn’t good,” he said. “Public-sector employees are paid only about half of their salaries, or sometimes a bit more. This has been going on for years and has become almost normal, but it’s not normal.”
“This is the result of Israel withholding Palestinian revenues and refusing to release them, so the PA doesn’t have the financial resources to pay full salaries,” he said, adding that many households can hardly cover their monthly expenses and are facing increasing financial pressure.
The PA employee said he did not expect any new Israeli government to engage in talks with Palestinians or pursue statehood, but he hopes the next government will show greater flexibility.
“People care much less about political solutions today,” he said. “They need answers to escalating economic difficulties.”
“We know that even if the Ben-Gvir/Smotrich government is replaced, the next government will [still] not negotiate with Palestinians or grant us a state, but it might at least act more reasonably,” the PA employee said.
“We need financial resources to live,” he said. “The far-right Israeli government, with ministers like Smotrich, seeks the collapse of the PA and is indifferent to the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank. Maybe with a different government, things could look a bit different.”
Under Israeli law, an amount equal to the allowances paid by the PA to Palestinians imprisoned for committing terrorist attacks against Israelis (“pay for slay”) is deducted from the tax revenues that Israel transfers to the PA.
These deductions, together with falling foreign aid, have created a financial shortfall for the PA, resulting in its ability to meet only partial salary payments, usually covering 50% to 70% of public-sector employees’ wages.
Any other government will be easier to deal with
“Any future government, other than one led by the far-right Smotrich, might at least be easier to deal with,” the PA public-sector employee said.
Other Palestinians expressed concern about ongoing violence by radical Israelis against them and their property across the West Bank. They said they have not seen any effective measures to stop these incidents, which leaves many Palestinian farmers and ordinary residents feeling increasingly insecure.
The current government aims to drive Palestinians from their land, they said, adding that the outcome of the Israeli election could help prevent further escalation if steps are taken to curb violence by Israeli extremists.
Palestinian analyst and political expert Ghassan Khatib said it was not surprising that Palestinians were interested in developments in the Israeli political system.
“It’s natural for Palestinians to follow what happens on the Israeli political side, because they realize their life conditions and future are shaped by Israel,” he told the Post. “So, they hope the elections might bring about a change in the Israeli policy toward them.”
“Israel is the one that controls daily life for Palestinians in any possible way and in all areas,” Khatib said. “It controls the Palestinian economy and decides everything for Palestinian.”
Palestinians faced a double problem concerning both Israel and the PA, whose function is not satisfactory, he said. According to a recent poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, which Khatib heads in Ramallah, the majority of the Palestinian public has lost trust in their own leadership.
“Part of the reason is that Israel has turned the Palestinian leadership into one that cannot function or administer things properly,” Khatib said.
“Palestinians see that Israel has changed, and that the ‘new Israel’ has no interest in a political resolution to the conflict,” he said. “Palestinians don’t have any illusions about that.”