Even if Tuesday’s elections bring an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nearly two-decade tenure, his impact on Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank is expected to persist. Netanyahu’s government has overseen significant expansion of settlements, displacement of Palestinian communities, and the empowerment of armed settler groups, trends unlikely to be reversed quickly by any successor.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader with almost 17 years in office, presided over a period during which settlers increasingly operated with growing autonomy, often defying the Israeli military. Armed groups have been reported to raid Palestinian villages, forcibly evict families, and seize land, sometimes with tacit or explicit support from security forces. A notable example occurred in July when the Tubasi family was expelled from their home in the West Bank village of Jalud after a 19-day siege by armed settlers. Although an Israeli court ordered military intervention to restore the family, soldiers withdrew amid escalating settler violence, leaving the family displaced and their home destroyed.

Under Netanyahu’s leadership, more than 250 unauthorized outposts have been established, primarily in areas long used by Palestinian herding communities. These outposts facilitate settler control over extensive rural lands by restricting Palestinian access to water and grazing areas. According to researchers with Israeli anti-settlement organizations, such as Kerem Navot and B’Tselem, this strategy has compelled over 120 Palestinian herding communities to abandon their lands since 2023, particularly along the eastern West Bank bordering Jordan.

While Netanyahu’s opponents in the upcoming government have pledged to curb settler violence and dismantle some illegal outposts, they do not intend to remove the more than 100 settlements legalized under Netanyahu—many of which have grown into sizeable communities. Nor do they support evacuating older settlements established over previous decades. Most Israelis broadly oppose a Palestinian state, complicating prospects for a two-state solution, which remains the international community’s favored framework for resolving the conflict. Israel considers the West Bank as integral to its historical and biblical heritage and maintains that final status decisions require negotiation, though formal talks have been stalled for more than a decade.

The likely new prime minister, retired general Gadi Eisenkot, represents a political center and plans to form a coalition excluding Arab-led parties that advocate for Palestinian statehood. Eisenkot rejects a Palestinian state but is open to limited self-governance in about 40% of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority, while supporting settlement growth and direct Israeli control over the remaining territory. He has also committed to strengthening Israel Defense Forces and paramilitary units to restrain settler violence.

Observers note that the opposition has struggled to present a comprehensive alternative to Netanyahu’s hardline security policies, which aim to preempt threats and maintain operational freedom across the occupied territories. Recent Palestinian attacks inside Israel, coupled with political rhetoric portraying critics of right-wing policies as sympathizers of adversaries, have marginalized discourse on peace and compromise.

International human rights groups such as Amnesty International have accused Israel of apartheid practices in the occupied territories, a charge Israel denies. Despite expectations of modest policy shifts, experts suggest that Netanyahu’s settlement policies have reshaped the West Bank on a scale that will endure beyond his possible departure from office.

Meanwhile, international pressure on Israel remains limited. U.S. President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of Netanyahu, is unlikely to exert significant influence on the incoming government’s approach to the conflict.