Gaza: Impact of Israeli Domestic Realities

Protesters hold Israeli flags as they demonstrate following a Parliament vote on a contested bill that limits Supreme Court powers to void some government decisions, near the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 24, 2023. Amir Cohen/Reuters

Commentary

If one only looked at the headlines, the Gaza war might seem like a straightforward military campaign. But in reality, it’s also a mirror—a mirror of Israel’s deepest domestic divides, its coalition politics, and its unresolved questions about identity and strategy.

A Fragile Political Backdrop

The war did not erupt in a political vacuum. Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five elections in less than four years—a record that revealed ongoing instability. In three of those elections, Benjamin Netanyahu won the largest bloc but failed to form a government. In one, rivals Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid stitched together an ideologically diverse coalition that briefly ousted him. Only in November 2022 did Netanyahu return with a coalition that still governs today.