Newsletters
Voter turnout in Israel’s general election reached 74.3% as of 8 p.m. local time (6 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday, the highest level recorded since 1988, according to Dean Livneh, deputy director general of the Central Elections Committee. A total of 5,449,277 Israelis had cast ballots by that hour.
Livneh said voting slowed slightly between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., but turnout could still exceed 80%. The number of voters was 12% higher than at the same hour in the 2022 election, Israel's ynet reported.
The committee turned down a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to keep polling stations open beyond 10 p.m. local time (8 p.m. GMT), according to reports. The Knesset said on its X account that polls would close as scheduled. The committee has said that voters still waiting in line at 10 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Israeli media earlier reported that Likud and Shas, a conservative religious party, had petitioned the committee to extend voting hours. Channel 12 quoted the committee as saying it had received no such request from Likud and had learned of it only through the media.
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party rejected the calls for an extension, Haaretz reported. Party officials told the newspaper that “Netanyahu is laying the groundwork to claim that the integrity of the election has been compromised.”
Israeli media earlier reported that Likud and Shas, a conservative religious party, had petitioned the committee to extend voting hours. Channel 12 quoted the committee as saying it had received no such request from Likud and had learned of it only through the media.
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party rejected the calls for an extension, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported. Party officials told the daily that “Netanyahu is laying the groundwork to claim that the integrity of the election has been compromised.”
Netanyahu urged voters to go to the polls in a 12-second video posted on his X account. “Don’t give them the keys to the country. Go out and vote right now,” he wrote in Hebrew alongside the clip.
The video opens on a tree-lined street with an Israeli flag on display, where a person picks up a set of keys lying on the pavement.
The key ring holds a house key and a blade-shaped piece resembling a knife.
The person then holds the keys out to a man resembling Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab party Ra’am, who reaches out with an open hand to take them. The clip ends on a black screen showing the key ring with the Hebrew message “Don’t give them the keys to the country,” followed by “Go out and vote!” in red letters.
1 min read
Hanna Swaid, a former Knesset member and Arab Israeli Christian from the Galilee, said four years of mounting anger toward Netanyahu was driving record turnout among both Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.
Arab citizens account for slightly more than one-fifth of Israel’s population, yet their parties have never secured representation in the Knesset in proportion to that share. Even without reaching one-fifth of the seats, gaining several could prove decisive in a close race.
Swaid noted that Arab voter turnout has long been both a key factor in election results and a political tool used to alarm and rally right-wing voters.
“Palestinian citizens want to change things and kick out the extremist ministers,” he said, referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “The only way to do that in a democratic state, as far as you can still call Israel that, is elections.”
His remarks come as right-wing politicians, including Netanyahu, have sought to energize their supporters by warning of high turnout in predominantly Arab communities.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
