The next elections in Israel will be held on October 27th, 2026, and two months is a long time in politics, but if there is no dramatic change by then, it will bring about the end of Netanyahu's term and the election of Gadi Eisenkot as the next prime minister of Israel. If that happens, it will be a certain repetition of what happened in the 1999 elections, in which Netanyahu was defeated by Ehud Barak, the former chief of staff of the Israeli IDF, who promised to withdraw the IDF from Lebanon and return to the negotiating table for a permanent agreement with the Palestinians.

Eisenkot, who was a pragmatic and prudent chief of staff of the IDF, understands very well that a policy does not begin and certainly does not end, with the use of force. The question is whether his victory in the elections and the change in Israel's foreign and security policy under his leadership will lead to a change in Israel's standing in the world, or whether the decline in Israel's standing is so deep that it will take a long time, even after he is elected, for the much of the world to see Israel through different lenses.

I want to believe that most countries in the world miss the other kind of Israel, in particular after four years of extreme right-wing rule, during which Netanyahu gave a lot of leeway to extremist and unfit ministers. A sharp and clear change in Israeli policy will cause many countries, already in the short term, to significantly improve relations with Israel.

The relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is the most important and urgent political issue and it will be the first test of the new government. Palestinian dependence on Israel is very high and immediate steps must be taken here. The first step should be the return of billions of dollars that Israel owes to the Palestinian Authority (these sums stem mainly from the payment of customs and import taxes, which it is obligated to transfer to the Palestinian Authority and which Israel has decided to freeze on various grounds over the past four years).

Eisenkot is expected to deliver a programmatic speech in which he will commit to President Trump's 20-point plan of September 20, 2025 (adopted by the UN Security Council on November 7, 2025), whose Article 19 states:

“While Gaza re-development advances, and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”

And to the 15-point plan of the Board of Peace of May 21, 2026, which deals with the implementation of the 20-point plan.

Since Netanyahu welcomed the 20-point plan, it will be difficult for the right to oppose its adoption by the new government, and it could be an excellent basis for the government's diplomatic work in the future.

As soon as possible, the prime minister will need to make a regional trip that will begin with a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas and continue in Egypt, Jordan, and the countries that have joined the Abraham Accords. These visits will be essential for restoring Israel's ties with countries in the region, during which Eisenkot will commit to a political effort with the Palestinians and to involvement in the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel should immediately return to the international institutions from which it has withdrawn, such as:

• UNESCO
• UNAOC
• UN Women
• UN-Energy
• GFMD
• and others

Most Israelis feel that "the world is against them", that the world did not understand the severity of the massacre that took place on October 7, 2023, and that already on that day, demonstrations were held in various parts of the world in support of Hamas, which slaughtered entire families, murdered babies in front of their parents, raped women, abused the living and the dead and kidnapped civilians in Gaza for over 2 years.

Israel's response was very harsh. There were those in Israel who thought that the world's indifference to the horrors of October 7 gave them permission to take double revenge, and that the tens of thousands killed by IDF fire, including many innocent people, alongside Hamas people, were justified. The world, naturally, did not accept this and Israel soon became a pariah state, which further exacerbated the feeling of many Israelis that they had been wronged.

But Israel is a democratic country, and a 180-degree change in its policy could bring about a change in its attitude. It is essential that Israel's citizens understand that the world's criticism of it is not automatic, and that when it makes efforts to bring peace closer to the Middle East, the world will not ignore or disregard it.

References:

| Dr. Yossi Beilin