Israeli elections... Participation reaches 66.7%, and Netanyahu demands an extension of voting

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While Israelis turned out massively to vote, Tuesday, in the first elections since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, amid deep divisions and intense competition that determines the future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party demanded that the voting period in the legislative elections be extended beyond 10 p.m., while Gadi Eisenkot’s party, the most prominent competitor to the Israeli Prime Minister, opposed the latter’s request.

The nationwide participation rate reached 66.7% as of 18 p.m. local time, according to what Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath correspondent reported, which is the highest percentage recorded since the Israeli Central Elections Commission began recording these statistics in 1973.

Meanwhile, the Likud Party, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asked the Central Elections Commission on Tuesday to extend voting hours, as part of its efforts to mobilize more voters. The party said in a message posted on the Telegram platform, “We have submitted a request to extend voting hours.”

In turn, the Yashar Party, headed by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, announced that it “strongly” opposes the call by the Likud Party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to extend voting hours in the ongoing legislative elections. He said, "There has been no exceptional incident that could justify approval of this request, which aims to pave the way for allegations questioning the integrity of the elections."

For his part, spokesman for the Joint Arab List in Israel, Osama Al-Saadi, said that there are attempts to confuse and obstruct the elections in Arab towns.

He also said, "We estimate that the general voting percentage will reach about 80%, and this requires more Arab votes."

The latest published opinion polls showed a tie between Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in Israel's history, and his main centrist rival, Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff and a recent arrival to politics, whose calm nature is seen as the opposite of the current prime minister's style.

In turn, after casting his vote in Jerusalem, Netanyahu expressed his concern about the high voter turnout among the Arab minority in Israel, warning against “theft of the elections,” following reports of the arrest of people in possession of envelopes containing cash.

On the other hand, the Yashar Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, the prime minister’s most prominent competitor, warned that Netanyahu was preparing to challenge the election results. Later, Eisenkot urged voters to work to overthrow what he considered "the worst government" in Israel's history.

Eisenkot also pledged to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and expressed his support for Israeli settlements, but promised to firmly address settler violence.

However, neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu announced their willingness to ally with the Arab-majority lists, which represent about 21% of Israel’s population, and may play a decisive role in forming the government if the results are close as expected.

About 7.3 million people are entitled to vote, including more than half a million young men and women who will vote for the first time. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of them classify themselves as center-right or right-wing.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of Israelis have returned by air from abroad to participate in elections that are seen as decisive in defining their country's future identity.

Netanyahu, 77 years old, served as prime minister intermittently for more than 19 years. He returned to power in December 2022, at the head of a coalition that included extreme right-wing nationalists whose political influence has grown since then.

In the years following the October 7 attack, Netanyahu led several wars during which Israeli forces turned Gaza into rubble, occupied southern Lebanon, and launched, for the first time, violent strikes on Iran, its arch enemy, with American assistance.

At home, the Israelis were bombarded by Iran, Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen.

Most polling stations are scheduled to close their doors on Tuesday at 10:00 pm local time (20:00 GMT).

It may take days for the final results to be issued, while it is highly unlikely that any single party will come close to winning the 61 seats needed to guarantee a majority in the 120-seat parliament.

It also takes weeks or months to form any coalition, with the possibility of new elections being held if negotiations fail.