From Gaza to the Knesset: Could the impossible become a shared future? - opinion

As Israeli society participates in its democratic process, I find myself reflecting on a question that remains painfully distant for the people of Gaza: what does it mean to have the freedom to choose one’s leaders and influence one’s future?

From Gaza, Israel’s internal democracy presents a striking contrast with the political reality Palestinians have experienced for years.

This observation does not mean that Israel is beyond criticism. Rather, it raises an essential question about political accountability, public participation, and the right of every society to determine its own destiny.

Gaza’s missing political choice

Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007, and no general elections have been held there since then. Generations of Palestinians have grown up without a meaningful opportunity to renew their political leadership through the ballot box.

Political restrictions, division, and years of devastating conflict have further weakened the possibility of building accountable civilian institutions.

Gaza’s future cannot be determined solely by external actors or by political movements that claim to speak for its people. Its residents must have the freedom to choose their representatives, express disagreement, and hold their leaders accountable.

Elections alone will not solve every problem. Democracy also requires independent institutions, political pluralism, freedom of expression, and respect for the individual.

After years of repression and war, Gaza will need time and genuine opportunities to rebuild these foundations.

Gaza does not need others to choose its future on behalf of its people. It needs the freedom to choose that future for itself.

Learning without idealizing

Israel’s parliamentary system offers a perspective worth examining. Political parties compete, governments face opposition, and public disagreements are expressed through institutions. These mechanisms do not eliminate injustice or guarantee wise decisions, but they create channels through which citizens can influence political life.

My conversations with friends have helped me reflect on this contrast. One of them, Sami, traveled from Switzerland to visit a kibbutz near Gaza. We discussed Israeli democracy and the importance of political participation, even amid deep divisions and security concerns.

Such conversations do not require me to overlook the suffering of Palestinians or abandon criticism of Israeli policies. They remind me that recognizing the strengths of a political system is not the same as endorsing every decision made by its government.

I believe societies can learn from one another without surrendering their identities or ignoring their disagreements. The important question is whether political systems allow citizens to question their leaders and pursue change without fear.

A future beyond today’s imagination?

When I think about Gaza’s future, I sometimes consider an idea that may sound unrealistic today: could Palestinians from Gaza, Arab citizens of Israel, Jewish citizens, and other Israelis one day participate in a shared political framework in which everyone enjoys equal rights and meaningful representation?

Could a future generation imagine new arrangements, potentially including representation within the Knesset, if the people concerned freely chose such a path?

I present this not as a ready-made political program, but as a question about what future generations might decide is possible.

Any such arrangement would require genuine consent, equality before the law, protection of collective and individual rights, and serious answers to questions of citizenship, national identity, and political self-determination.

Palestinians must remain free to choose their own national and political future. No shared framework can be legitimate if it is imposed on them or used to dismiss their aspirations.

Yet history repeatedly reminds us that ideas once considered impossible can become subjects of serious discussion. How many things that once seemed unimaginable have eventually become possible?

The right to choose

For me, the central lesson is not that Gaza should copy Israel or that one society should be judged superior to another. It is that people deserve the ability to shape their own political future.

Israelis can debate their leadership and participate in elections. Palestinians in Gaza deserve that same fundamental opportunity: to choose, to disagree, to organize, and to hold those in power accountable.

Before discussing distant political arrangements, Gaza needs security, dignity, functioning civilian institutions, and the freedom for its people to determine what comes next.

The future may take a form that neither Israelis nor Palestinians can fully imagine today. But any lasting future must begin with a simple principle: every people deserves a genuine voice in deciding its own destiny.

The writer is a Palestinian peace activist from Gaza who advocates for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and amplifies the voices of Palestinians who reject violence.