Record turnout as Israeli voters deliver verdict on Netanyahu

JERUSALEM, Oct 27: Israelis flocked to the polls Tuesday in record numbers as a deeply divided electorate delivered a verdict on veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack.

Nationwide turnout as of 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) was the highest at that point in the day since such statistics were first recorded in 1973, with the Central Elections Committee giving a figure of 44.9 percent.

Israelis are casting their ballots in the shadow of October 7 and the multi-front regional wars that it sparked, with the trauma from the attack still fresh and questions over accountability and security central to the campaign.

The close-fought vote comes as Israel looks increasingly isolated on the world stage, driven by the war in Iran and the devastating military campaign in Gaza, soaring settlement construction and violence in the occupied West Bank.

The last opinion polls to be published showed Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, running neck and neck with his main rival Gadi Eisenkot, a centrist political novice and former military chief whose mild manner is seen as the antithesis of the incumbent.

Eisenkot's Yashar party on Tuesday warned that Netanyahu was "laying the groundwork to challenge the results" of the election.

Before voting, the 66-year-old military man paid his respects privately at the grave of his son Gal, whose death fighting in Gaza has drawn empathy from many Israelis. Speaking afterwards at a polling station, Eisenkot called on Israelis to ignore distractions and vote to replace "the worst government since the state was established".

Some 7.3 million people are eligible to vote, with tens of thousands of Israelis estimated to have flown in from abroad for an election seen as crucial to deciding the future character of their country.

Eilana Zisblit, 55, told AFP she had travelled back from Canada where she has lived for almost 30 years to vote for a centre-right party in Eisenkot's bloc. "The country is going in a really, really bad direction. Both for Jews and Arabs living in the country, and for Jews living abroad," she said.

Netanyahu returned to power in December 2022, bringing into his coalition far-right ultra-nationalists who have since seen their political clout skyrocket.

Seeking to unseat the premier is an informal bloc of parties led by Eisenkot's Yashar and spanning from the right to the centre-left -- including former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, as well as seasoned politician Avigdor Lieberman and left-leaning Golan.

Neither Eisenkot, 66, nor Netanyahu has publicly said they would partner with the predominantly Arab lists, which represent some 21 percent of Israel's population and who could become kingmakers if the results are as close as expected.

At home, Israelis have faced bombardment from Iran, Hamas, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Final results could take days to trickle in and it is highly unlikely that any single party will come close to the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member parliament.�"AFP