Palestinians Barred From Israeli Knesset Vote, Report Finds
Millions of Palestinians under Israeli control cannot vote in the October 27 parliamentary election that will shape their lives, a report says, as residents of East Jerusalem and the West Bank describe being taxed and governed without a voice in the Knesset.
Millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control will have no say in the parliamentary election that will shape their daily lives, according to a report examining the vote set for October 27. The investigation focused on East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, where residents described paying taxes and living under Israeli decisions while being unable to choose the parliament that makes them.
In East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed in a move rejected by the United Nations, many Palestinians hold permanent residency rather than citizenship. They pay taxes, social security contributions and value-added tax, yet cannot vote for the Knesset. One resident described the situation as being «really helpless, voiceless». Another spoke of the frustration of facing the consequences of an election without any ability to influence it.
Palestinian residents who obtain Israeli citizenship can vote, but those interviewed opposed taking that step, arguing it would amount to recognizing Israeli sovereignty. The report was prepared ahead of the vote and set against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of Israel as the Middle East's «only true democracy».
In the West Bank, around three million Palestinians live with Israeli control over key aspects of daily life, including movement and construction. Area C, which covers roughly 61 percent of the territory, remains under full Israeli control. Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti argued that the occupation and the different legal systems applied to Palestinians and Israeli settlers contradict Israel's democratic claims. «Two different laws for two people in the same area is nothing but the description of apartheid,» he said.
Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strook has advocated allowing Palestinians to remain while denying them a parliamentary vote. «They can stay here as human beings, of course,» she said, but stressed that they «shouldn't be able to vote for the Knesset».
Barghouti further accused Israel of obstructing internal Palestinian elections. The Palestinian Authority cited Israel's refusal to guarantee voting in East Jerusalem when it canceled elections in 2021. For Palestinians interviewed in Ramallah, the priority is to be allowed to hold their own elections rather than voting under occupation.
The accounts raise questions about representation and consent in a region where voting rights are unevenly distributed. Residents who pay into the system but cannot choose its lawmakers describe a gap between the obligations of citizenship and its political privileges, a tension that extends beyond a single election cycle.
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