Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Netanyahu Warns Arab Voters, Smotrich Promises Gaza Settlements As Israel Election Votes Count
5outlets comparedA wider view of the story
2 Asian2 Israeli1 West AsianThis article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Exit polls show no bloc with 61 seats, signaling a hung parliament. Netanyahu calls for a strong right-wing government and warns against Arab-party coalitions.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Provocative claims as votes counted
Senior figures on Israel’s right made provocative statements about Arab voters, alleged attempts to steal the election, and plans to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza as election votes were counted. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke early on Wednesday at his far-right Religious Zionism party’s election headquarters in Jerusalem and promised to preserve the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, which he said would not be reversed, declaring: “Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza.” Netanyahu warned that Arab voters were rushing to polling stations and that an opposition victory would threaten Israel’s Jewish character, and he accused three senior figures from Ra’am of attempting to steal the election.
Police confirmed they arrested three people on suspicion of voter bribery, while Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim reported Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing and religious parties was projected to win 56 seats with about 55 percent of ballots counted, short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament. Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra’am, told Al Jazeera he had received approaches from both Netanyahu’s Likud and the opposition camp led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who heads the Yashar party.
Netanyahu urges right-wing
Benjamin Netanyahu called for a strong right-wing government and warned against forming one dependent on Arab parties, telling activists and journalists at Likud’s election headquarters in Jerusalem to await the final count after exit polls left the outcome unresolved. Netanyahu said, “The Likud is the largest party in Israel,” and he also warned, “We must establish a strong, right-wing, national government,” placing coalition arithmetic and reliance on Arab parties at the center of the uncertain outcome. The Central Elections Committee data on Wednesday around noon showed Netanyahu's coalition bloc leading with 54 seats, while Likud had 27.
Exit polls suggested neither Netanyahu’s camp nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot had secured the 61 seats required to form a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Eisenkot pledged to form a government after the exit polls indicated a “lack of confidence” in Netanyahu, and he said, “The people decided in favor of change.”
Coalition stakes and next steps
The vote count had already begun and officials would turn to the “double envelopes” for ballots cast by soldiers, diplomats, doctors and nurses who cannot leave their posts to vote in person. Around 600,000 such envelopes were in the count, and shifting exit polls had added to the uncertainty even though the envelopes do not usually alter the overall outcome significantly. Netanyahu’s remarks came after a night of chants of “Only Bibi!” and after Netanyahu recounted what he presented as his government’s military achievements, saying, “Iran is weaker than ever; Israel is stronger than ever.”
Netanyahu told Likud activists, “We are still waiting for the true results,” and he quoted him saying, “The Likud is the biggest party in Israel,” while he refrained from declaring victory outright. Netanyahu also said it was unthinkable “to endanger Israel and set up a government that relies upon anti-Zionist Arab parties,” and it quoted him describing parties that oppose Israel’s existence and call soldiers war criminals.