Palestinians want Israeli vote to change policy, not just leader

Fadwa Hodali and Abeer Abu Omar, Bloomberg News on Aug 12, 2026

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Israel’s election in two months may see out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious-rightist government, but a major shift in West Bank policy would be needed for there to be peace in the territory, the top Palestinian diplomat said.

“You can change the faces as much as you want. If the policy remains the same, then the issues remain the same,” Varsen Shahin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the Palestinian Authority, told Bloomberg TV in an interview. “The new government might be doing the same, but in a different manner.”

While much of the world watches Israel’s wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, the West Bank has seen a surge of violence by extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians. Netanyahu, whose coalition includes ultra-nationalists campaigning for the area to be annexed, has sought to downplay incidents, attributing them to a handful of radicals.

Rising insecurity and Israel’s expanding grip on the West Bank, along with the destruction in Gaza, have eroded Palestinians’ hopes of founding a state in the territories — even as recognition of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel builds among world powers looking to isolate Netanyahu’s government.

“What Israel needs to understand today is that, if it wants to position itself strategically in the area as a normal state, as a state that lives in peace and security with its neighbors, it needs to respect the rights of the Palestinian people,” Shahin said.

None of Netanyahu’s centrist, liberal or hawkish challengers in the Oct. 27 election have advocated a change in policy on the Palestinian track. Several have, however, called for crackdowns on settler violence.

If the current Israeli coalition is voted out, “things might calm down a bit, but the issue is this expansionist and annexationist policy of Israel that needs to change so that we see a genuine change on the ground,” Shahin said.

The last round of U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations stalled in 2014. Netanyahu’s opposition to Palestinian statehood is backed by most Israelis, their views hardened by the October 2023 attacks by Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 abducted.

The Palestinian militant group, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and many other countries, has also been a political adversary of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority that Shahin represents.

Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians while opening an opportunity for the PA to re-assert itself in Gaza. Shahin said the PA was ready to liaise with an interim administration that, under a peace plan sponsored by U.S. President Donald Trump, would take over from Hamas.

Trump’s plan recognizes statehood as a Palestinian aspiration while saying its realization would require a reform of the PA.

“What we are looking for is a ‘One Palestine,’ including all parts with one government, with one law,” she said.

—With assistance from Dan Williams.