Palestinian political renewal can also change Israel
Gershon Baskin
September 3, 2026
Why do I, as an Israeli, write about Palestinian political parties? Because I care about the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Because I believe that this conflict has only one solution that can guarantee freedom and dignity for Palestinians, while simultaneously preserving Israel as the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people, with full equality for all its citizens: two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.
I also write because Israelis and Palestinians do not live in two separate political worlds. There is an interactive relationship between the two societies; what each side says, does, and refrains from doing or refusing to say directly affects the political life of the other.
When Israelis elect leaders who deny the existence of the Palestinian people, support annexation, and speak of uprooting Palestinians from their land, they strengthen the position of those on the Palestinian side who say that Israel understands only the language of force. And when Palestinians glorify armed struggle, celebrate attacks on civilians, or continue to talk about eliminating Israel, they strengthen the position of those on the Israeli side who insist that there is no Palestinian partner for peace.
Extremists on both sides feed off each other, and each side uses the other as proof of the impossibility of a settlement. Breaking this destructive relationship requires political courage, but it also opens a window of opportunity, because positive change on one side can encourage similar change on the other.
The Israeli elections will be held before the Palestinian elections. Israelis will vote on October 27, while the Palestinian Legislative Council elections are scheduled for November 28. However, Palestinians can influence the atmosphere in which Israelis vote, and they can begin doing so now, through the parties they establish, the leaders they bring to the fore, and the political commitments they announce.
Israeli leaders have failed to demonstrate Israel’s readiness to be a genuine partner for peace. Instead of offering a credible political horizon, Netanyahu’s government has delivered nothing but occupation, settlement expansion, displacement, and perpetual conflict to the Palestinians. But this failure also presents Palestinians with an opportunity to prove something different: that despite the horrors of Gaza, the violence and land confiscation in the West Bank, and decades of disillusionment, there are still Palestinian forces willing to lead the way to peace.
This does not absolve Israel of its responsibilities. Israel has a responsibility to end the occupation and recognize the Palestinian people’s right to independence. But it is also about Palestinians exercising their political will and not allowing those in Israel who reject peace to determine their future for them.
Palestinian political life is in dire need of renewal. Fatah, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and most of the existing factions are political movements belonging to a bygone era. They arose in a different time and remain captive to the language, symbols, and slogans of failed conflicts.
Armed struggle has not liberated Palestine; rather, it has brought the Palestinian people immense suffering, death, and destruction. October 7th and all that followed should leave no room for doubt about the disastrous consequences of believing that violence against Israelis will bring Palestinians closer to freedom. Quite the opposite has occurred: Gaza has been devastated, the Israeli right wing has been strengthened, and a Palestinian state has receded further.
Hamas lacks a credible political program for liberation, reconstruction, or democratic governance. Any party that seeks the demise of Israel, justifies attacks on civilians, or insists on maintaining an independent armed force cannot be a legitimate partner in building a democratic Palestinian state. There must be one elected authority, one law, and one legitimate armed force in the hands of the state institutions.
Fatah, too, is in dire need of fundamental change. While Fatah’s role in embracing diplomacy and accepting the two-state solution framework must be acknowledged, it has become associated, in the eyes of many, with aging leadership, corruption, political paralysis, and a lack of democratic accountability. If Fatah truly wants to lead the Palestinian people again, it must reform itself, renew its leadership, and unequivocally renounce the language, images, and symbols of armed struggle.
Removing the rifles from Fatah’s banner and slogans may seem like a simple step, but it is highly significant. A political movement seeking international recognition of a Palestinian state must present itself as a movement for democracy, institution-building, and achieving freedom and independence through peaceful means, not as an armed organization stuck in the 1960s.
Palestinians need new voices, new visions, new leaders, and a much greater presence of youth and women. They need parties committed to democracy, good governance, accountability, non-violence, and ending the occupation through peaceful means. They also need leaders who will tell their people the truth: Israel will not disappear, and Palestinian freedom will not be achieved by denying the Jewish people’s connection to this land or their right to national self-determination.
The peace process itself must change. Palestinians cannot be asked to accept another phased process like Oslo: a new series of stages, committees, and open-ended negotiations with no time limit, leading nowhere. The end goal must be agreed upon from the outset: an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.
This requires a binding international and regional commitment, spearheaded primarily by the United States under President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The establishment of a Palestinian state should be placed within a broader regional framework that includes Palestinian-Israeli peace and normalization.
التاريخ 4-9-2026
