Voters in West Bank’s Ofra voting for continued expansion of settlements, and to keep left-wing Democrats out of government

Voters queuing to cast their ballots in the settlement of Ofra in the central West Bank say they are voting to preserve government support for the massive increase in settlement expansion witnessed over the last four years, and to prevent the Arab parties and Yair Golan’s Democrats party from forming a coalition.

Amir Levy, who has lived in Ofra, one of the first West Bank settlements, for thirty years, says he voted for the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich because of tax breaks he has introduced and funding for religious pre-military academies he has boosted, and because he has enabled the profusion of settlement farming outposts, which are technically illegal under Israeli law but which have received backing from government ministries and agencies.

“I’m disappointed about his position on Haredi enlistment, but I think he’s done much more good than beyond this one issue,” Levy adds, in reference to Smotrich’s backing for legislation that would reinstate blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Levy says the stakes are high in the election because, he asserts, the left wing is desperate to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power and will join with the Arab parties to remove him, something he fiercely opposes.

“Yair Golan will be devastating for the right wing, for the settlements, for the pre-military academies; he will separate religion and state,” Levy adds.

“If it was just [Yashar party leader Gadi] Eisenkot, then fine, but Eisenkot will have to have Yair Golan in government.”

Naama, 25, grew up in Ofra although lives in the nearby settlement of Kida. She voted for Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party, which in many polls was struggling to cross the electoral threshold.

Naama says she backed Winter because he would change the way the war against Hamas in Gaza is conducted, because “he sees the other side of the political aisle as an opponent, not an enemy,” and because of his position demanding ultra-Orthodox enlistment in the IDF.

She says that when the wars following the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacres began, her husband was still doing his compulsory military service, and subsequently served over 150 days in reserve duty.

“It’s a bummer, he goes happily to reserve duty, but we want equality in military service from everyone,” she says, adding that this should include not just the ultra-Orthodox but “Arabs, leftists, and everyone,” and noting that performing national service instead of military service would also be acceptable.

The outgoing government’s efforts to reinstate military service exemptions for Haredi men have been politically damaging for the Religious Zionism party since the community is overrepresented in reserve duty, while only very few ultra-Orthodox men enlist.

Asked about the stakes in the election, Naama says she is worried “the extremes” will get into government, citing Yair Golan specifically, and also expresses opposition to the idea of a Palestinian state.

“Every time concessions are made in diplomatic agreements, the security situation gets worse, so it seems a bit stupid to continue with the idea.”