> Israel does have a robust free speech democracy
That is debated. The IDF censors thousands of articles, both domestic and abroad, every year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Military_Censor
Yes and no - arguably most would define "pursuing negative outcomes to reinforce a fraction's power" as misoperation within governance and even 200+ years ago understanding this lead to things like Washington's warnings about factions and political parties.
you can ask the same of Hamas, is theirs the policy the populace wants?
Israel does have a robust free speech democracy and you can easily learn what many of the different factions think, and like elections anywhere, you don't know till afterward how it plays out, and voters are always disappointed by the way power is exercised.