How would a Netanyahu election loss change Israel's policies toward the Palestinians?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, both oppose an independent Palestinian state, meaning next week's election is unlikely to bring a major shift in policies that have hindered the decades-long peace process.

Three years after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, they also share hardline positions on Gaza, saying they would resume the war if Hamas, whose founding charter calls for Israel's destruction, refuses to disarm.

However, they differ on settlements in the occupied West Bank and are likely to rely on different coalition partners to form a government, potentially setting the country on different paths.

Here's a look at the candidates' positions on the conflict with the Palestinians.

West Bank settlements

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Nearly all countries consider the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Netanyahu has overseen a rapid expansion of settlements, including small outposts in areas of the West Bank reserved for civil administration by the Palestinian Authority, where settlements are illegal under Israeli law. Settlers have increasingly attacked Palestinians, and critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violence.

Eisenkot supports settlements in principle but says they must comply with Israeli law. He opposes unauthorised settlements, would dismantle outposts in areas where they are prohibited and has pledged to prevent settler violence against Palestinians.

He also opposes the Netanyahu government's decision to build in an area known as E1, which would bisect the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem. Settlers say the project is intended to "bury" the possibility of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian self-rule

Reflecting the rightward shift in Israeli politics, Netanyahu and Eisenkot, along with the leaders of nearly all other Jewish-led parties, oppose the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Their positions effectively reject the two-state solution that has underpinned international peace negotiations for generations.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot say Israel must retain ultimate security control over all territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

However, they differ in emphasis. Eisenkot's position on limiting settlements in the West Bank would preserve areas where Palestinians currently exercise civil self-rule. Netanyahu's coalition includes parties that openly advocate the full annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.

Gaza

Three years after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, prompting an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and a year after a US-brokered ceasefire ended major combat there, Israeli troops now control around two-thirds of the enclave.

Nearly the entire population of more than 2 million Palestinians lives in the remaining third, mainly in tents or damaged buildings, under Hamas's continued political control. US-brokered talks have so far failed to reach an agreement on Hamas disarming, an Israeli withdrawal and the start of reconstruction under international supervision.

Both Eisenkot and Netanyahu say Israeli troops will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas disarms and that Israel is prepared to resume fighting to achieve that goal.

Eisenkot describes Hamas's continued rule in Gaza as a profound failure. He says that within 18 months of taking office, he would ensure the replacement of the Hamas administration, either through a US-brokered plan or military force.

Coalition partners

Netanyahu's governing coalition includes far-right Jewish nationalist groups led by settler activists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who support the full annexation of Palestinian territory and face sanctions in several Western countries for promoting settler violence.

Netanyahu also relies on ultra-Orthodox parties that seek exemptions from military service for Jewish religious students.

Opposition parties that Eisenkot could approach to form a coalition and unseat Netanyahu include several right-wing groups, but none led by figures as extreme as Smotrich or Ben-Gvir. His supporters largely oppose military service exemptions for religious students, making an alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties unlikely.

To unseat Netanyahu, Eisenkot is likely to need support from the Democrats, a party that includes the remnants of the centre-left Labour Party, which dominated Israeli politics for generations but has declined as the country has shifted to the right. The Democrats are now the only prominent Jewish-led party that supports a two-state solution.

Both Eisenkot and Netanyahu have said they would not form a government with parties that primarily represent Israeli citizens of Palestinian descent, who make up around a fifth of the population.