( CNN ) The Palestinian issue dominates international news coverage of Israel , with images of missiles , terror tunnels and failed peace negotiations frequently splashed across TV screens and newspapers . So you would think that security would be the central issue in Tuesday 's Israeli elections , right ? The short answer is no . Poll after poll in Israel has confirmed that the public views the high cost of living as the top issue for voters in this election . Indeed , even a majority of Israel 's Arab citizens within the pre-1967 borders -- most of whom identify with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza -- view socioeconomic issues as the priority for Tuesday 's parliamentary poll , rather than advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process . What explains this apparent indifference ? First , despite what the polls suggest , peace and security actually remain the most important underlying issue in Israeli politics . The main parties recognize that they need to cross the credibility threshold on this issue , and they therefore include former high-ranking army officers and diplomats among their ranks . Whatever they may say to pollsters , many voters continue to vote primarily on this issue . However , because most such voters are staunch supporters of the right or the left and have already made up their minds , they are unlikely to shift their vote between these two blocs , so their votes are not in play in these elections . This was n't always the case -- a significant group of voters once swung back and forth between right and left . However , for some time now , the majority of Israelis have shared a consensual position on the Palestinian question . In principle , they continue to favor a two-state solution and they are prepared to make extensive compromises in exchange for genuine peace -- greater concessions than in the 1990s at the height of the peace process . However , in practice , that same majority believes that even if an Israeli government were to agree to more compromises than they view as acceptable , Israel would still not obtain the minimum required in terms of peace and security to make the deal worthwhile . Why ? Experience has certainly taught middle Israel to be deeply skeptical of the possibility of peace with the Palestinians , irrespective of the complexion of the Israeli government . In 2000 , for example , a Labor-led government agreed to a Palestinian state in all of Gaza , 97 % of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem , including the holiest site in Judaism , the Temple Mount . Yet not only did Yasser Arafat reject the deal , but the Palestinians launched an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians . Add in the fact that subsequent unilateral Israeli withdrawals from south Lebanon and Gaza resulted in tens of thousands of rockets being launched at Israeli civilians , and the 2008 decision by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to reject Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 's peace proposal -- a plan similar to the Clinton parameters that Arafat rejected in 2000 -- and Israeli wariness is easy to understand . Since then , leaks from the recent round of peace talks have only served to strengthen the Israeli public 's skepticism -- the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly prepared to accept a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders , only for Abbas to refuse to engage positively with a wide-ranging American peace outline including this element , according to Israel 's Channel 2 , even when he was presented with it directly by President Obama himself . As a result of all this , much of the electorate is determining its vote based on other issues , where voters hope political change in Israel can actually make a real difference to their lives . Indeed , the most likely candidate for kingmaker following the elections is Moshe Kahlon 's centrist party Kulanu , whose agenda is to lower the cost of living in Israel . ( Kahlon won fame in Israel by dramatically lowering the cost of cell phone use through the introduction of wide-ranging competition into the market . ) In keeping with the mood of the public , the ex-Likudnik presents a moderate image on the Palestinian issue and has appeared to try to steer away from discussing issues of peace and security . In fact , one senior Israeli official told me that Kahlon 's team has been advised against even mentioning the word `` peace '' for the rest of the campaign . That says it all .
Israel holds parliamentary elections on Tuesday . Clinton : Despite polls , peace and security key issue .