Live: Israelis head to the polls as Netanyahu fights for political life
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US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee faced criticism on Tuesday after he appeared to imply Palestinian citizens of Israel were not Israeli.
In a post, Huckabee praised the Israeli electoral system because, among other reasons, "Arabs vote same as Israelis."
Today is election day in Israel, which is a national holiday. All voting is in person, ID required. No mail-in or absentee ballots. Arabs vote same as Israelis. Contentious process, but it's a democracy-not many of those in this region!
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 27, 2026
Israelis on X were quick to point out that the "Arab" voters in Israel were also Israeli citizens.
Palestinian citizens of Israel, unlike the majority of Palestinians, have the right to vote in Israeli elections.
Gadi Eisenkot, the main election challenger of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urged voters on Tuesday to oust the "worst government" in Israel's history.
"I call on all citizens of Israel to go vote, not to buckle under the heat or the disruptions, to stick to the mission: to replace tonight the worst government since the state was established," he said.
Reporting by AFP
A man has been arrested after approaching the centre-left party leader Yair Golan with a knife in Tel Aviv.
Golan, leader of the The Democrats, was taking part in a voter mobilisation drive when the man approached him in a "threatening manner." After security guards confronted him, a large knife fell from his jacket and he was tackled by the guards, before police came and arrested him.
"Incitement and violence will not deter us," Golan said following the incident.
Israel's election committee said the turnout by noon was the highest since 1977.
Over 2.3 million Israelis cast their vote by noon, 31.5 percent of eligible voters.
The 1977 election was the first time Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party won a pluarlity of seats in the country.
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his supporters that "left-wing women are escorting Arab women to the polls."
According to Haaretz, the prime minister sent voters a recorded message, accusing leftists and Palestinian-led parties of trying to "steal the election."
He added that police had "caught three senior [Ra'am] officials with envelopes of cash in the south."
Israel's Central Elections Committee (CEC) has said there is no evidence of systemic tampering with ballots in the election, despite complaints from at least six opposition parties.
The Times of Israel said that Yashar, B’Yachad, People of Israel, Yisrael Beytenu, Ra’am, and the Reservists-Economic party had all reported alleged irregularities, including "missing or defaced ballot slips and other suspected attempts to interfere with voting."
Yashar said they had raised a complaint after suspicions that reports of irregularities were not "isolated mishaps."
“The large number of incidents raises serious suspicions that these are not isolated mishaps, but rather a systematic and deliberate attempt to sabotage the democratic process, prevent citizens from exercising their right to vote and influence the election results,” they said in a statement.
Activists with the Palestinian-led Ra'am party have been arrested in the Negev, with its leader accusing authorities of suppressing their election campaign.
Mansour Abbas said he filed a complaint with the Central Elections Committee over the arrests, adding that ballot slips had been removed or defaced in several Arab localities.
"Your vote is your power – do not give it up," the party said in a statement.
The election, the first since 2022, has been dominated by discussion of the Hamas-led attacks of 2023, the genocide in Gaza, compulsory military conscription for ultra-Orthodox communities, and West Bank security, including the growth of settlements.
Here’s where each of the main parties stand on the key issues:
Read more: Who are the main leaders and where do they stand on the key issues?
Ibrahim Said has boycotted Israeli elections since voting in 1980.
Parties came and went, telling him they would defend his interests if elected, even promising to help return his lands in al-Birwa, the town his family were displaced from during the 1948 Nakba.
But nothing ever changed for the better for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Israeli democracy had nothing to offer him and his community, the 70-year-old felt.
This year, the situation is completely different.
“Without a doubt, we must vote this time. We are living in fear,” Said tells Middle East Eye in his garage in the Galilee.
Read more: Palestinians are voting in Israel to ensure their very survival
Three British parliamentarians have been detained by Israel while trying to access the occupied West Bank.
Labour MP Clive Lewis, Scottish National Party MP Lara Bird, and Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens were all denied access to the territory.
They were travelling as part of a delegation organised by the Progressive International.
Israel closed off the occupied territory ahead of the elections.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the parliamentary elections are a "life or death" matter for right-wingers in Israel.
"Dear right-wing voters, this is a matter of life and death for us! We must go out and make sure to vote for Likud," he wrote on X, referencing a speech by Palestinian party leader Ahmed Tibi.
"If you don't vote, tomorrow we'll wake up to a government of Lieberman, Eisenkot, and the Arab parties that support terrorism," he added, referring to rival right-wingers Avigdor Lieberman and Gadi Eisenkot.
אתם חייבים להקשיב לאחמד טיבי. מצביעי הימין היקרים, זה בנפשנו! חייבים לצאת ולהוציא להצביע ליכוד. אם לא תצביעו מחל נתעורר לממשלה של ליברמן, איזנקוט והמפלגות הערביות שתומכות בטרור. https://t.co/lYKgGFbIea
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 27, 2026
Voter turnout in the first three hours of Israel's pivotal general election stood at 16.68 percent, the Central Elections Committee said on Tuesday, the highest at this stage of the vote since 1981.
"By 10 am, more than 1,200,000 Israelis had voted. The nationwide voter turnout stands at 16.68 percent," Dean Livne, acting director general of the committee, said in a televised statement.
Reporting by AFP
Israelis began voting on Tuesday in the first parliamentary elections since the 7 October 2023 attacks, with incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tough challenge from opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot.
Polling stations opened at 7am local time (5am GMT) and are due to close at 10pm (8pm GMT).
A total of 36 electoral lists are contesting 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in a bid to form the country’s 38th government.
Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties became the first Israeli government since 1988 to complete a full four-year term, after taking office in December 2022.
But polls suggest his bloc could fall short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority, with projections putting it at around 50.
Read more: Polls open as Netanyahu fights to retain power
