Voting in Israel is about to close. Exit polls will start rolling in soon after.
Nimrod Sheffer, a former IDF major general and a politician for the left of centre Democrat party says they believe the Netanyahu block will shatter from 64 seats to 50.
Speaking after the biggest vote in Israel since 1977 at the Israel Press Club election night event, Sheffer, who is 11th on the Democrat list said: ’There has been a very high turnout, and that plays in our favour because many of the small parties will not pass the threshold, and then most of them, actually all of them, are from the other side of the political map. So let me let me be very very blunt, okay? I think that the political map in Israel tomorrow morning will be as follows: 50 mandates for the current coalition, which will sit in the opposition, and 70 to the next coalition. 50 to this coalition is a crash.”
Netanyahu’s coalition won 64 seats at the last election
Sheffer added: ‘It means that Israeli society says, “Do whatever you have to do to change the government.” This is a red flag for the current coalition for Netanyahu’s government. This is a red flag for the Israeli populations. We have had enough. We need a change. We want a change, and that’s why I think the turnout is so high, which we didn’t see for so many years.
“And the turnout in the Arab society is the highest ever, I think, which gives the Arab society in Israel, I believe, something between 15 to 16 or 18, maybe seats in the next Israeli Parliament, in the next, which is a huge political power, and that means to each one of us, [that they are saying] guys, you cannot ignore us anymore. We are part of the Israeli society. We are part of the political game. We want to be part of that.”
‘Tomorrow morning, or even tonight, the entire narrative that we knew about is going to change in Israel because there are two narratives that I think about. One is national unity; that’s what I believe should be done, but leave it aside. And the other one is you can’t ignore the Arabs. This is what’s going to happen. We, the Democrats Party, believe that the Arab society should be a part of the political game in Israel. You cannot ignore 21 percent of your population, citizens like me, like you. So we believe they must be part of the game.”
Shlomo Filber, pollster for Netanyahu-aligned Channel 14, hints that “a party that we never dreamed of could find itself out of the Knesset” due to the high turnout.
Source: Avi Mayer, Founder, JerusalemJournal.com
Ma’ariv reports that Israeli police are investigating nearly 30 complaints filed throughout election day (Tuesday), up until the evening, over suspected electoral fraud and voter impersonation at polling stations.
Following the complaints, police investigators moved swiftly to examine the allegations and determine whether any offences involving fraud or impersonation had been committed during voting.
Police stressed that the filing of a complaint does not necessarily mean that an offence has taken place, and that the investigations are intended to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding each reported incident.
The findings will also be submitted to Israel’s Central Elections Committee for review and any further action deemed necessary.
“There is a report in Israel that three polling places in an Arab town in the north have closed because 100% of eligible voters in those areas have voted. The numbers are absolutely astounding.”
Source: Senior Correspondent @owenalterman for i24 News English
Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yashar with Eisenkot, completed his visits to Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan alongside Yashar party list member and Ramat Gan Deputy Mayor Israel Zari: “With one hour until the polls close, I urge the public to choose enlistment over draft evasion, responsibility over evading responsibility, and commitment to citizens over political and personal commitments. This is about our future and the future of our children.”
At polling stations in Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city that has long been a Likud stronghold, many young Israelis arrived to cast their ballots for the first time.
For years, Ashkelon has been one of the Israeli cities most heavily targeted by rocket fire from Gaza. The October 7 attacks and the subsequent war also took a heavy toll on the city, with at least 41 of its residents killed.
Jewish News spoke to two young first-time voters whose political choices reflect different responses to the events of October 7.
Daria, 21, voted for a party belonging to the opposition’s so-called “change bloc”.
“I hope these elections will change things in Israel for the better. I’m trying to stay optimistic. I think October 7 affected my generation deeply. I don’t want to think about what happened that day. It was really traumatising. But I think it changed the way we look at politics.”
Shay, 19, voted for one of the parties in the current governing coalition.
“I really want a Right-wing government that will serve my needs and those of the State of Israel. October 7 has affected my vote and the votes of my friends. People might think that because we suffered so much on October 7 and experienced so many rocket sirens, it would turn us away from the Right. But no, it has actually strengthened our support for the Right. We believe it will bring a better future.”
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