Palestinian residents of Majd al-Krum in northern Israel say a settler outpost built on village land last month was a test of what could follow if the far right wins Tuesday's election. The camp was removed within weeks, but many in the community believe the effort was only a first step.
Settlers from the occupied West Bank began building on the pine-covered hilltop of al-Rus in late August. They said they were there to graze livestock under a Jewish National Fund (JNF) permit, though villagers say there was no livestock. Lawyer Hussein Mannaa, 50, a member of the town's Popular Committee, said the camp grew within a week to between 25 and 30 people, with a kitchen, toilet, water line and electricity. Villagers described it as one of the first such attempts on the Israeli side of the Green Line.
From September 13, hundreds of Palestinians came daily, from Majd al-Krum and across the region, even after police closed the road to the site. They climbed on foot, on horseback and in off-road vehicles. Anas Sgaier, a 21-year-old law student and youth organiser, recalled seeing an woman in her 80s walking for 50 minutes with her husband "just to show her presence." By September 16, after almost a week of peaceful protests, the JNF ordered the tents removed.
Villagers connect the episode to the campaign of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has promised to "Judaise" the Galilee and repeat there "the revolution we carried out in [the occupied West Bank]". On August 27 he posted a plan for one million more Jews and 40 new Jewish communities in the Galilee and al-Naqab. Economic consultant Husein Khalaily, 50, called al-Rus a "pilot" experiment, adding: "Today, the language is clear."
Tensions continued. Smotrich campaigned in the village with a police force and a water cannon, and local committees and parties persuaded angry young residents not to confront him. On September 18, police announced the arrest of a 32-year-old resident over alleged contact with a Lebanese agent, and Smotrich said Galilee residents were "in the atmosphere of October 6". Mannaa argued that the provocations aim to push people into confrontation, saying "chaos benefits them."
The JNF has since said the grazing initiative would move to another plot about 500 metres away, on land villagers consider theirs. Residents reject any relocation, "even one tent," Mannaa said. Al Jazeera said it had asked the JNF, Israeli police and the Finance Ministry for comment but had not received a response.
The episode may affect turnout. Polls suggest neither main Zionist bloc can reach 61 seats without Arab party support. Participation by Palestinian citizens has ranged from 45 to 65 percent in recent years, but organisers believe it could reach 70 to 75 percent, a level last seen in 1999. Mannaa predicted Majd al-Krum would "go past 80 percent." Khalaily, a longtime boycotter who has voted only once, now urges people to vote so that "these prominent racists" are removed, though he sees little difference between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and its likely replacement otherwise.
Not everyone agrees. Sgaier will still boycott, saying the village solved its problem by going to the street, not through the Knesset. He sees little difference between the two Zionist blocs. Still, he said the protests drew people who were not politically engaged.
The settler tents are gone, leaving sparse remains and Hebrew graffiti. Villagers still climb the mountain daily, and families barbecue while schoolchildren draw and play music. Singer Khaled Kewan, 27, recorded the song "Ibn Bladi" during the protests. He warned that Judaisation efforts are "coming not just for Majd al-Krum, but for the whole Galilee."