Palestinian civilians in Gaza deserve a political future beyond Hamas and Fatah - opinion

The political battle has already begun, even though the elections themselves have not yet taken place.

But amid this competition, one question remains largely unanswered:

The parties are competing for political power.

The people are struggling for a normal life.

For many people in Gaza, the word “elections” does not automatically mean hope.

People who have experienced years of division, wars, displacement, destruction and political uncertainty may not see another electoral process as the solution to their problems.

There is a significant difference between the political activity of parties and the level of political enthusiasm among ordinary civilians.

While political organizations discuss lists, programs and seats, families are still living in tents, searching for homes, rebuilding their lives and wondering what kind of future awaits their children.

The question many civilians are asking is not necessarily:

Who will win the seat?

It is:

Who will give us our lives back?

For years, Palestinians have been asked to align themselves with parties, factions and political leaders.

But Gaza’s civilians have paid the direct price of political conflict.

The division between Fatah and Hamas was not simply a disagreement between political leaderships. It became a social, economic and security reality that shaped the lives of millions.

Then came the wars.

With every round of violence, civilians lost homes, relatives, security and opportunities.

That is why a discussion about new elections cannot be separated from the question of public trust.

There may be elections.

But is there trust?

And do ordinary citizens believe that their vote can genuinely change their lives?

A different conversation is beginning among Palestinians who do not want to return to the traditional choice between Fatah and Hamas.

They are asking whether Gaza can develop a civilian political alternative that is not controlled by the established parties.

For me, this is connected to a broader idea: separating Palestinian identity from political factional identity.

A Palestinian does not have to be affiliated with Fatah or Hamas in order to be Palestinian.

The civilian population should have the right to imagine a political future beyond the existing party structures.

Recently, I proposed an idea that generated considerable discussion among Palestinians and Israelis: that I could seek to represent the interests of Gaza’s civilian population inside the Israeli Knesset.

The proposal is deliberately unconventional.

It is not simply an attempt to replace Palestinian politics with Israeli politics.

It is an attempt to open a different discussion about the future relationship between Gaza and Israel.

Could there be political and civilian channels through which Gaza’s population could communicate its interests directly to Israeli society and institutions?

Could a relationship dominated for decades by military confrontation eventually become a relationship based on civilian communication and political dialogue?

There are no easy answers.

But the reaction to the idea demonstrated that Palestinians are willing to listen to unconventional political proposals when those proposals focus on their daily lives and future rather than simply reproducing the old factional struggle.

Some Palestinians remember earlier periods of economic and civilian interaction between Gaza and Israel, including employment, medical services and everyday contact between people on both sides.

These memories should not be turned into a romantic version of the past.

There were deep political inequalities and serious conflicts.

But neither should the history of civilian interaction be forgotten.

The question is not how to return to the past exactly as it was.

The question is whether something new and better can be built.

Perhaps the people best placed to understand this question are the communities living around Gaza and the civilian population inside Gaza.

They have lived on opposite sides of a border, but they have also lived on opposite sides of fear.

Israeli communities around Gaza experienced the trauma of October 7 and the loss of civilians, families and security.

The people of Gaza subsequently experienced enormous destruction, displacement and loss.

The suffering is not identical.

The political circumstances are not identical.

But one reality cannot be ignored:

Civilians on both sides have paid a devastating price for violence.

Perhaps those civilians can become part of building a different future.

This is the question that deserves serious discussion.

Perhaps politicians alone cannot create peace.

Perhaps armies alone cannot create security.

Perhaps political parties alone cannot rebuild trust.

But what if the process began with the people who experienced the suffering?

What if civilian communities in Gaza and Israel began communicating?

What if economic, medical and educational initiatives were developed?

What if Gaza’s civilian population had direct channels for dialogue with its Israeli neighbors?

And what if Israeli communities near Gaza became part of the discussion about Gaza’s future, rather than being viewed only through a security lens?

This is not a ready-made political solution.

It is an invitation to begin a different conversation.

The coming elections may produce new lists, alliances and political figures.

Established parties may return strongly.

But the deeper political contest is not necessarily about the number of seats.

It is about whether Gaza’s civilians will remain recipients of decisions made by political organizations – or become central actors in determining the political future they want.

The parties have been tried.

Political divisions have been tried.

Military power has been tried.

Wars have been tried.

And Gaza’s civilians have paid an enormous price.

Any new political project that does not begin with the ordinary Palestinian’s right to life, security, dignity, education, employment and a future will remain incomplete, regardless of how attractive its political program may sound.

The election Gaza needs may not only be an election between parties.

It may be an election between ideas.

Do Palestinians want to remain prisoners of the past?

Do Israelis and Palestinians want to continue seeing each other as permanent enemies?

Or can two societies exhausted by war begin building a different relationship?

For Gaza’s civilians, the first question may not be who governs.

It may simply be:

How do we live?

For Israelis living near Gaza, the first question may not be who governs Gaza.

It may be:

How do we make sure that this tragedy never happens again?

Perhaps these two questions can eventually meet.

One of the most important questions for the next stage is civilian representation.

Not only representation inside Palestinian institutions, but a direct civilian voice in discussions about Gaza’s future and its relationship with Israel and the wider world.

People who experienced war should not become merely numbers in humanitarian reports.

They are human communities with interests, fears, memories and hopes.

If politicians want to compete in new elections, they should first listen to these people.

Perhaps the clearest lesson of the past decades is simple:

Gaza does not belong to Hamas.

It does not belong to Fatah.

And it does not belong to any party, faction or political personality.

Gaza belongs to its people.

They should have the right to decide how they want to live, who they want to represent them, and what kind of relationship they want to build with other Palestinians, with Israel, and with the international community.

The coming elections could be an opportunity.

But they will become a genuine turning point only if Palestinian politics moves beyond the struggle between parties and returns to the human being at the center of the political equation.

Perhaps the question that should come before every electoral program is the simplest and the most difficult:

What will each Palestinian politician do to ensure that the people of Gaza can finally live a normal life?

Because a population living in tents does not need only an electoral program.

It needs a future.