Why Smotrich needs to be careful - and what happened to the issue that once decided elections | Amit Segal
Once this issue decided elections, today it is fading in favor of the economy and conscription. While politicians align with the rightward trend, the public displays a temporary indifference that the next government and the US administration will not allow to continue.
The latest wave of terror attacks has, for a moment, returned public attention to what is happening in Judea and Samaria. However, the issue that once decided elections has evaporated from the agenda.
In the 2006 elections, Ehud Olmert opened the Kadima campaign by stating that "in the next four years, Israel's permanent borders must be shaped and we must converge into the settlement blocs." Benjamin Netanyahu's defeat in those elections stemmed from broad support for a wide withdrawal. If Netanyahu is defeated in 2026, it will be because no one is talking about withdrawals.
"I never said a Palestinian state," Gadi Eisenkot repeats. Naftali Bennett says he is a right-winger, Avigdor Lieberman the same. They all read the polls showing how much the public has moved to the right, and they likely also read how absent the issue is. How much? One of the moments that symbolized the change was during one of the protests on Kaplan Street, when Brothers in Arms activists forcibly took down a "Down with the occupation" sign, so as not to harm public support for the struggle.
So yes, 78% of the public say the issue of Judea and Samaria and a Palestinian state is important or very important. But when the public is asked to prioritize, it is the least important issue of all those tested. Cost of living at 35%, Haredi conscription at 18%, the war with Iran at 17%, changes to the judicial system at 16%, and the future of Judea and Samaria at only 7%. Even among the religious public, only 12% see it as an important issue, a warning signal to Bezalel Smotrich, whose entire leadership list resides in Judea and Samaria.
Nevertheless, it can be assumed that this is temporary indifference. According to most polls, the next government here will already house a sharp debate over the future of Judea and Samaria, as evidenced by some outrageous statements by senior members of the Democrats list. And according to all assessments, the next administration in America will not shrug its shoulders at what is happening beyond the Green Line. The Israeli public is advised to replenish its reserves of interest in the field.
