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.”
Voter turnout as of 8:00 PM – 74.3%, higher than the final turnout in the previous elections.
Elections Committee: 70.1% voted in Modi’in, 55.3% in Jerusalem, 54.5% in Haifa and 58.6% in Tel Aviv
Source: Elections Committee
Voters are complaining of messages that briefly took over their phone screens, reading: “Last chance to prevent a left-wing Arab government. Go out and vote.”
Source: Amit Segal, Chief political analyst, @N12News
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Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party says its activists were attacked in Netanya by individuals wearing shirts bearing the name of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party.
“They destroyed the party’s campaign stand, scattered its campaign materials and replaced them with Otzma Yehudit flyers,” the party says in a statement, adding that the assailants fled the scene.
“We strongly condemn the violence and demand that police identify the attackers and bring them to justice,” the party says, adding that the activists intend to file a police complaint.
Source: Times of Israel
More than 4.8 million votes cast as of 6 pm., with voter turnout at 66.7% as of 6 pm., according to the Central Elections Committee, which is the highest turnout at this hour in recorded history.
As of 17:00 local time in Israel, the voter turnout among soldiers stood at 68% of all serving personnel. In the 25th Knesset elections at this hour, the turnout rates stood at 65%.
Source: N12 News Israel
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