Israelis shatter turnout records as election puts Netanyahu’s political survival on the line — SkimNews
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- Central Elections Committee reported turnout at 66.7% by 6 p.m., a record at that point, with four hours remaining more people had voted than in the entire previous election.
- Netanyahu urged supporters to “stream to the polls” to balance high turnout on the left and among Arab Israelis, calling the vote “a fateful moment”; his campaign also highlighted Trump’s endorsement and call to “finish the job.”
- Gadi Eisenkot walked to the polls with Gadi Mozes, one of 251 people kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7 assault, which killed 1,200; opposition groups have promised a national inquiry into the security failures Netanyahu has resisted.
- Gadi Eisenkot called Israel’s post-Oct. 7 response a failure because Hamas remains in charge and pledged to dismantle or destroy Hamas’s military and administrative power in Gaza within 18 months of forming a government.
- Ahmed Tibi said record turnout among Israel’s Arab minority would “pave the way” for an alternative government; forecasters said a surge among Palestinians of Israeli heritage could limit Netanyahu’s gains and make Arab-party support more likely.
- Likud Party vehicles drove through Jerusalem with loudspeakers blaring the Islamic call to prayer and urging, “Get out of your houses now! Arabs are voting!”; Netanyahu separately posted an image purportedly showing Arab women at a polling station that OpenAI’s verification site said was prepared with its AI tools.
- Israel’s fragmented 120-seat parliament leaves neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot with an easy path to power; if neither can form a coalition, Netanyahu can stay caretaker until another election.
Why it matters: Record Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-heritage turnout bears directly on coalition arithmetic: an alternative government is more likely to require Arab-party support, though Eisenkot rules out partnership and allows only a minority government propped up by them. Netanyahu mobilized against that bloc, while failure by both leaders in the 120-seat parliament allows him to remain caretaker until another election.
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