Over the years, the vast majority of Palestinians have (legitimately) become somewhat indifferent towards internal Israeli politics, largely due to popular belief that all Israeli political parties/movements are variations of the same Zionist ideology of neo-colonialism, expansionism, and racism, thus merely adopting different approaches to a single imperialistic policy of sustaining and expanding Israel’s immoral and illegal military occupation of Palestine.

However, the outcome of yesterday’s Knesset elections deserves to be assessed within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; not least because Kadima’s political platform is based on Israel’s declared vision (or lack of) to exclude the Palestinians from any negotiated settlement of the conflict and to unilaterally finalise Israel’s borders by 2010, incorporating “Israel proper” and 46% of the West Bank (including all of east Jerusalem), ultimately leaving the Palestinians with 2 equally disastrous options: to accept the establishment of a quasi Palestinian state on fragmented Bantustans across the Palestinian territories, or to continue their legitimate military resistance against occupation, hence an intensification of the conflict altogether.

Unlike Hamas’ rise to power last January, Kadima’s narrow 28/120 seat victory in the Knesset hardly qualifies as a major shift in Israeli public opinion, let alone a paradigm shift in Israeli political life; after all, General Sharon’s 4-month-old unilateralist party is a face lift to Israel’s right wing Likud.

The catalyst of Likud’s evolution into Kadima is the Israeli political establishment’s realisation that in order for Israel to sustain and expand its occupation of the Palestinian territories (and annex Jewish settlements into the future boundaries of Israel), it will have to abandon negotiations under the already favourable, yet inclusive, Oslo framework and single-handedly dictate/impose territorial realities on the Palestinians, the Arabs, and the international community (including the US, whose blind support for Israel under these conditions will further infuriate Arab and Muslim outrage against US foreign policy in the region, and effectively against all Americans).

The early stages of Israel’s short-sighted vision in dealing with the conflict (i.e. its recipe of war) are already visible on the ground. Acting Israeli Prime Minister, and Kadima’s leader, Ehud Olmert is vigorously pressing ahead with his E1 Plan, through which Israel will effectively fulfil its pre-meditated policy of isolating east Jerusalem from the West Bank by encircling the city with settlements infrastructure and the Apartheid Wall, hence putting an absolute end to its territorial contiguity with the rest of the Palestinian territories, and tipping the demographic balance of Jerusalem in favour of Israel by sustaining a Jewish majority through the incorporation of Jerusalem’s illegal settler population, consequently undermining the Palestinian position in any future negotiations on permanent status issues.

In the West Bank itself, Israel’s construction of the Apartheid Wall, which Olmert will certainly intensify following his election victory, will equally put an end to any Palestinian aspirations of establishing a territorially-viable Palestinian state (in direct contradiction to US foreign policy and in violation of international law). The outcome of this equation is, needless to say, catastrophic to both Palestinians and Israelis, as it diminishes any hope for a just and durable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Furthermore, and in consistency with Zionist policy, Kadima is already misleading Israelis and non-Israelis alike with deceptive claims that Israel will have to make “painful concessions” by dismantling some Jewish settlements in the West Bank before drawing its final borders. In reality, this means evacuating isolated and insignificant low-population settlement structures, which have been established by rogue Jewish fanatics across the Palestinian territories throughout the past few years, in violation of Israeli law in the first place.

What, then, is the meaning of the Israeli election results, particularly as an indicator of the Israeli people’s perceptions of the political reality?

Combined with the fact that Israelis have granted 13 parliamentary seats (3rd place) for the ultra-orthodox Shas party (whose spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yousef has in the past publicly described Palestinians as ants, snakes, vipers, and cockroaches who should be annihilated), 12 seats (4th place) for the far-right party of Russian emigrants, Yisrael Beitenu (which advocates the transfer of Palestinian-Israelis to the PA areas), and 11 seats (5th place) for the right wing Likud party, it would be safe to conclude that Kadima’s election victory is a green light for Israel to continue adopting a delusional policy of isolationism, ultimately leading its people into the abyss of destructive politics, and away from any socio-political culture conducive to peace, justice, and security.

Perhaps Israel’s conservative Knesset choices this time are too contagious, even for a Palestinian, and it may be only appropriate here to end on a biblical note/metaphor! Will it take another 40 years before the desert-wandering (in this case, politically-lost) Israelites finally arrive at the sanity of pragmatism? More importantly, who will be their saviour?

Rami Bathish is director of the Media and Information Programme at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). He could be contacted at mip@miftah.org