🔻 Middle East expert: Election results show a picture of the Israeli society becoming divided into two camps

Professor Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford University, says that the election results «provide a picture of the Israeli society becoming divided into two camps.»

Mr. Rogan, in an interview with BBC Radio 4, said that «the demand for change» among some voters who are guided by the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot has been put face to face with another group of voters who «have a firm determination to preserve Netanyahu’s right-wing policies», because they see them as «a kind of security guarantee for the State of Israel».

In response to a question about the impact of the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, Mr. Rogan said that this event too has created a split among Israelis.

He said: «Many Israelis see the cost of endless wars; both in terms of the blow to Israel’s economy, and the weariness of hundreds of thousands of reserve forces who are continuously called up for new tours of duty, and the decline in Israel’s standing in the international community. That is why they want change.»

Mr. Rogan added that «but in contrast, another group has become completely convinced that coexistence with Palestinians is never possible», and they believe that «the Palestinians, as well as Iran, are an existential threat and that only Netanyahu is the one who addresses these threats.»

He said «Israelis are divided into two camps.»