Palestinian activists urge boycott of vote

Palestinian citizens of Israel - who represent some 20 percent of the country’s population - are torn about whether to participate in today's elections. While some believe it is important to keep some representation in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, others advocate skipping the polls, using the hashtag #قاطع, or “boycott”, to argue their case.

For activists like Mohammed Kabha, boycotting the elections signals a rejection of the Israeli occupation, its institutions, practices and racist laws. Kabha tells MEE the electoral boycott movement has been ongoing for decades, but is being amplified by social media.

“The Palestinian people instinctively do not believe in the institutions of occupation,” he said. “They believe that real change is not through the Israeli Knesset, despite all the financial resources that the occupation is pumping in to encourage people to participate in elections and vote for Israeli parties."

While the impact of a boycott is hard to quantify, the Joint List - a coalition of political parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel - estimated that the turnout for Palestinian voters stood at 21 percent as of 2pm, compared to a general turnout rate of 36.5 percent.