The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Ramallah invited Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst and a public opinion expert and Abed Abu Shehada, a political activist from Jaffa, to discuss the Israeli Knesset elections and the possible impacts on Palestinians, both the citizens of Israel and those in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Amongst the Palestinian citizens of Israel, the boycott of the elections was a widely discussed possibility, citing the nation-state law of 2018, which grants national rights only to Jewish citizens of Israel, discrimination against Palestinians in Israel, the failure to influence and deliver on the side of the Palestinian-Israeli Parliamentarians who have assembled under the umbrella of the “Joint List” and the lack of faith in the legal and political system.

The attendees of the seminar also discussed the impact of the elections’ outcome on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with a focus on the re-election of Israel’s current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the success of his closest rivals Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid with their newly established political alliance “Blue and White”. The predominant tone was, and regardless of the outcome, that the chances for a revival in the peace negotiations or for a two-state solution remain very slim, as all candidates have similar views on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The annexation of Area C of the West Bank was a reoccurring topic during the last weeks of the election campaign and during the seminar, but all participants voiced their believe that nothing will happen before the reveal of the US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century”.

Dahlia Scheindlin is a leading international public opinion analyst and strategic consultant based in Tel Aviv. In Israel, she works for a wide range of local and international organizations dealing with Israeli-Palestinian conflict issues, human rights, peacemaking, democracy, religious identity and internal social issues in Israeli society. Dahlia holds a PhD in political science from Tel Aviv University, she is the co-host of The Tel Aviv Re- view podcast and frequent contributor to the +972 Magazine.

Abed Al Kader Abu Shchada is a community activist and an elected representative in the Tel-Aviv Municipality council. He is currently doing his Masters In Political Science at the University of Tel Aviv and is the co- founder of the Yaffa-Youth Movement. He is blogging for the +972 Magazine and the platform Haokets.