For Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Another Netanyahu Term Is a Nightmare in the Making
A Growing Desperation Across the Occupied Territories
From the crowded alleyways of Gaza City to the hillside villages of the northern West Bank, a quiet but urgent conversation has taken hold: What would more years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership mean for a people already exhausted by conflict, occupation, and broken promises? For many Palestinians, the question is not academic. It is a matter of daily survival. The Israeli prime minister’s right-wing government has become shorthand for settlement expansion, military raids, home demolitions, and a political stalemate that has stretched into endless generations. Across Gaza and the West Bank, the mood is not just anxious — it is desperate. Palestinians are watching the formation of yet another Israeli government that seems openly hostile to their national aspirations, and the dread is palpable. Netanyahu’s coalition, widely described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history, has brought into government figures who once belonged to the margins of political discourse. Their presence has emboldened hardline policies and pushed the idea of annexation from fringe fantasy to mainstream policy debate. For Palestinians, the implications are immediate: more land taken, more checkpoints, more violence, more reason to believe that the world has abandoned them.
What makes this moment particularly dark is the sense that Palestinians have been here before — and that the situation has only worsened. Netanyahu has served as prime minister for more than a decade, and during that time, the peace process has all but collapsed, Gaza has endured repeated military offensives, and the West Bank has seen settlement expansion accelerate to record levels. Many in the occupied territories say they cannot imagine another five years of the same. The phrase “close to unbearable” echoes through conversations in cafés, at family dinners, and in the waiting rooms of hospitals. It is not a rhetorical exaggeration. It is a description of an existence defined by military occupation, economic strangulation, and a total lack of political horizon. For Palestinians, the difference between Israeli governments has often seemed like a choice between bad and worse. But with Netanyahu’s current coalition, many say the country has moved decisively into the latter category. The result is a growing sense of hopelessness that analysts warn could fuel more cycles of violence.
Netanyahu’s Long Shadow: A Decade of Hardline Politics
Benjamin Netanyahu is not a newcomer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has been at the center of it for decades, first as a diplomat, then as opposition leader, and finally as the country’s longest-serving prime minister. His tenure has been defined by a careful but relentless expansion of Israeli control over the West Bank, a policy that international law and most of the world consider illegal. Successive Israeli governments have built settlements on occupied land, but under Netanyahu, the pace has been aggressive and unapologetic. During his time in office, the settler population has grown by hundreds of thousands, and the physical geography of the West Bank has been carved into fragments separated by walls, fences, and military zones. For Palestinians, the map of their future homeland has become increasingly difficult to recognize. The idea of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state has been replaced by a landscape of enclaves and restricted areas, all under the watchful eye of the Israeli military.
Netanyahu’s current government, formed after a series of unstable coalition negotiations, includes ultranationalist and religious parties whose leaders have called for the annexation of large parts of the West Bank, the expansion of settlements, and a tougher stance against Palestinian resistance. These are not fringe voices; they hold ministerial portfolios and influence security policy. The government has also pushed through a controversial judicial overhaul that has sparked mass protests in Israel and raised alarms internationally. While the overhaul was framed as a way to rebalance powers, many see it as a threat to democratic institutions and the independence of the judiciary. For Palestinians, the judicial overhaul is yet another warning that the political system is moving away from any commitment to human rights or international law. Israeli officials insist that they are acting in the name of security, pointing to waves of attacks and the need to protect Israeli citizens. But on the ground, the distinction between security and territorial expansion has become increasingly blurred.
Gaza: A Cage With No Exit
Nowhere is the desperation more visible than in Gaza. The small coastal strip, home to more than two million people, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the territory. Egypt has also restricted movement across its border, leaving Gaza effectively sealed off from the outside world. The blockade has devastated the local economy, crippled the health care system, and left most residents dependent on international aid. The United Nations has warned for years that Gaza is becoming unliveable, and that warning has become a grim reality. Electricity is available for only a few hours a day, clean water is scarce, and unemployment remains among the highest in the world. Young people who have never left the strip grow up surrounded by the rubble of previous wars, with little hope of building a normal life.
The periodic rounds of violence between Israel and armed groups in Gaza have only deepened the trauma. The last major conflict, which erupted after years of tensions over Jerusalem and the displacement of Palestinian families from their homes, reduced entire neighborhoods to dust. Thousands of Palestinians were killed, including many children and women. The physical damage was staggering, but the psychological toll is even harder to measure. Families who survived the bombs now face a future of reconstruction, uncertainty, and more occupation. For many Gazans, the prospect of another Israeli government led by Netanyahu is synonymous with more of the same: more airstrikes, more restrictions, more grief. The idea that the international community might press for an end to the blockade has long faded, replaced by a cynical acceptance that Gaza’s suffering is politically useful to both Israeli hawks and Palestinian factions. That sense of abandonment is perhaps the most unbearable part of the experience. People in Gaza do not just fear the next war; they fear being forgotten entirely.
The West Bank: Land, Walls, and Daily Humiliation
In the West Bank, the experience of occupation is more visible but no less suffocating. Israeli military checkpoints dot the roads, controlling the movement of Palestinians between cities, towns, and villages. What should be a short journey can take hours, depending on the whims of soldiers at the checkpoint. In cities like Hebron, Palestinian residents live under constant military surveillance, with Israeli settlers occupying parts of the old city and armed escorts accompanying their children to school. In villages near settlements, farmers are frequently separated from their land by newly built fences or denied access to their own fields because of “closed military zones.” Settler violence, often carried out under the protection or tolerance of the Israeli army, has forced entire Palestinian communities to leave their homes. The human rights community has documented cases of shepherds driven off their land, olive groves burned, and homes vandalized. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a systemic pattern that makes life in the West Bank a daily struggle for survival.
The Israeli government describes the West Bank as a disputed territory and insists that settlements are legal, despite the international community’s overwhelming rejection of that argument. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and every major human rights organization has called for an end to them. Yet the settlement project continues, and under Netanyahu’s coalition it has accelerated. Far-right ministers have promoted plans to legalize outposts and apply Israeli law to existing settlements, which would effectively annex large areas of the West Bank. For Palestinians, the consequences are felt in every aspect of life. Access to water is unequal, with settlers enjoying full service while Palestinian villages suffer shortages. Land confiscation for new settlement roads has eaten away at the already shrinking territory available to Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority, which was created to lead the struggle for statehood, is increasingly seen as weak, divided, and unable to protect its people. The authority still coordinates security with Israel, a policy that many Palestinians view as collaboration. But without meaningful power over territory or borders, the authority has little to offer beyond empty slogans.
A Political Horizon That Keeps Shrinking
The collapse of the peace process is not an accident. Decades of negotiations have produced little more than statements and frameworks, while the reality on the ground has moved steadily toward a one-state reality of inequality and permanent occupation. The last serious round of talks ended in 2014, and since then, the political space for a two-state solution has narrowed dramatically. The United States, for years the main mediator, has shifted its approach under successive administrations. The decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the release of a peace plan that Palestinians saw as a rubber stamp for annexation all signaled a fundamental departure from long-standing American policy. The Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, were celebrated internationally as a breakthrough, but for Palestinians they were a painful reminder that their cause had been sidelined. Arab governments, once champions of Palestinian statehood, were now making peace with Israel without any progress on Palestinian rights.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership remains divided. The West Bank is ruled by the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose legitimacy is contested and whose term in office technically ended years ago. Gaza is controlled by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by many countries and has refused to recognize Israel. The rift between the two factions has paralyzed Palestinian politics and allowed both to use the conflict for domestic purposes. Elections have not been held in the occupied territories in nearly two decades, and younger Palestinians are increasingly alienated from the official leadership. They see no meaningful political process, no credible strategy for liberation, and no international pressure on Israel to change its behavior. In that vacuum, resistance takes many forms. Some turn to armed struggle, despite the devastating consequences. Others join nonviolent protests, launch social media campaigns, or support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. But without a unified Palestinian strategy and a clear political goal, these efforts remain fragmented.
What Comes Next? Palestinians Weigh Their Options
For many Palestinians, the immediate future looks bleak. The Israeli government shows no sign of slowing settlement expansion, and the international community has proven unwilling or unable to hold Israel accountable. Human rights organizations have documented what they call apartheid — a system of entrenched discrimination and segregation that denies Palestinians basic rights. The label has gained traction in recent years, but it has not translated into meaningful action. Western governments continue to trade with Israel, fund its military, and treat it as a democracy while turning a blind eye to its occupation. For Palestinians, the double standard is not lost. They watch as the world condemns violations in other countries while ignoring or minimizing the same violations when they are committed by Israel. This selective outrage has fueled the desperation that now defines life in Gaza and the West Bank.
And yet, amid the despair, there are still signs of resilience. Civil society groups continue to document abuses, provide services, and build communities. Palestinian journalists and activists use digital platforms to share their stories with the world, bypassing traditional media filters. International solidarity networks have grown, particularly among young people and marginalized communities who see parallels between the Palestinian struggle and their own. The question is whether any of this can change the political calculus. Without a serious peace initiative, without a unified Palestinian leadership, and without a genuine shift in international policy, the region is likely headed for more cycles of violence and repression. The people of Gaza and the West Bank have little reason to believe that the next few years will be better. They are not asking for favors or charity. They are asking for the same rights that all people deserve: freedom, equality, and a life that is not defined by checkpoints, airstrikes, and the constant threat of displacement. Until that happens, the desperation that so many Palestinians feel today will continue to shape the region’s future — and the world will have to face the consequences of looking away.
