Lucrezia Ciotti Israel's elections saw record turnout, with 74,3% of voters at the polls by 20 p.m., while exit polls predict a close race between Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot. Neither side appears to have the numbers to govern alone, and the support of Arab parties could prove decisive in securing a Knesset majority.
Record voter turnout in Israel: 2022 total surpassed
Israel 's parliamentary elections are seeing particularly high turnout. As of 8:00 PM local time (7:00 PM GMT), turnout reached 74,3% , the highest level recorded at this time since records began. The Israeli Central Election Commission (CEC) announced this, stating that 5.444.277 people have cast their ballots so far.
The figure already exceeds the 70,6% achieved overall in the 2022 elections, confirming a turnout approximately eight percentage points higher than in the previous round.
Approximately 7,3 million Israelis are called to elect the 120 members of the Knesset , the national parliament, in a vote that also represents an important test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
These are the first parliamentary elections since the attacks of October 7, 2023. Thirty-seven parties are running, but only 13 are performing well in the polls and are expected to surpass the 3,25% threshold. Israel's electoral system is proportional, with a single national constituency and closed lists. The voting also affects Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian residents without Israeli citizenship are not entitled to vote. Despite Likud's request to extend polling hours , the Commission has confirmed that polling stations will close as scheduled at 10:00 PM local time (9:00 PM in Italy ).
Netanyahu mobilizes right-wing voters: « We can win, as long as we get people to vote."
As polls neared closing time, Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionist Party, organized an emergency meeting with dozens of local officials . The goal was to increase right-wing voter turnout and avert the risk of defeat in the Knesset elections, according to Israeli web radio station Arutz Sheva, which is close to Religious Zionism and the settler movement.
Netanyahu urged his supporters to get active in the final hours of voting, declaring: " We have to shake people up, get them out of their homes and vote . " The prime minister then attacked Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, questioning his right-wing affiliation: " It's not the real right, it's a fake right . " Addressing mayors close to his party, he reiterated: " We can win, as long as we get people to vote. You have to get real right-wing voters to go to the polls . " Netanyahu also argued that if Liberman fails to pass the threshold, the seats could go to the Likud.
Israeli elections, initial exit polls reveal a close race between Netanyahu and Eisenkot.
Initial estimates released by Channel 12 as the polls closed outline a tight race between Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, credited with 24 seats , and Yashar, the party led by Gadi Eisenkot, which is expected to obtain 22. The average of the latest polls by Channel 11, Channel 12, and Channel 13 paint a slightly different picture: Yashar is estimated to have 22,3 seats, compared to the 20 attributed to Likud. These are preliminary findings and do not yet constitute the official election results.
Projections also indicate that neither side would have the numbers needed to secure a parliamentary majority on its own . According to the reported poll average, the opposition would be awarded 54 seats, while the current majority would stop at 50.
In this scenario, the support of Arab parties could prove decisive in the formation of the next government. The Joint List coalition, composed of two Arab parties, would be credited with nine seats, while the Arab Islamist party led by Mansour Abbas would obtain an estimated average of 5,7 seats. Any external support from Arab forces could therefore allow the opposition to reach the threshold of 61 out of 120 seats , necessary for a Knesset majority.