With every election in “Israel”, the expectation resurfaces that replacing the prime minister will pave the way for Palestinian freedom. History demands a different test: which structures of domination will be dismantled?

As long as occupation, settlements, ethnic cleansing and the denial of self-determination persist, changes of government will continue to reshuffle the leadership of the Zionist state without addressing the colonial question.

As long as occupation, settlements, ethnic cleansing and the denial of self-determination persist, changes of government will continue to reshuffle the leadership of the Zionist state without addressing the colonial question.

In June 2021, when Naftali Bennett replaced Benjamin Netanyahu, I wrote that the proclaimed “government of change” offered no grounds for expecting a break with colonisation. Bennett supported settlements and opposed Palestinian sovereignty. Opposition to Netanyahu brought together a heterogeneous coalition, but did not turn it into an instrument for the emancipation of an occupied people.

That precedent should inform our reading of the contest between Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot

There are differences over institutions, military conscription, alliances and the conduct of military operations.

Yet the issue extends beyond who holds the office of prime minister. It concerns the nature of the Zionist state, the interests it serves and the security apparatus that sets the boundaries of the alternatives its leaders will accept.

Yet the issue extends beyond who holds the office of prime minister. It concerns the nature of the Zionist state, the interests it serves and the security........

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