Netanyahu warns of Arab voter surge in Israel's election in desperate bid to woo support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners made a last-ditch push on Tuesday to get their supporters to the polls, warning of a surging Arab voter turnout, a tactic Palestinian politicians denounced as racist and inflammatory.

Cars flying Netanyahu's Likud party flags drove through Jerusalem blaring the Islamic call to prayer and urging supporters to cast their ballots because "Arabs are voting", witnesses said.

"If we don't wake up now, we'll find ourselves with a government of Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi," Netanyahu wrote in a post, referring to two leading Palestinian politicians in Israel.

Tibi, a candidate from an Arab party, said strong turnout among Israel's Arab minority would "pave the way for an alternative government and change the grave reality".

Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Arab Balad party, wrote on X that long lines outside polling stations should bring "pride and joy to anyone who believed in democracy".

"We are receiving all these inciting messages from the petty racists, Ben Gvir, Netanyahu, and their partners. What are they afraid of? This is actually an excellent sight, it is good for democracy."