Highest Turnout in 53 Years: One-Third of Israelis Voted Within Five Hours

A new update from the Israeli Election Committee showed that voter turnout during the first five hours of voting rose to more than 31%, a figure that is the highest in 53 years.

The committee stated that "voter turnout reached 31.5% by 12:00 (five hours after polling stations opened)," an increase of 3.1% compared to the previous elections.

The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" noted that this is the highest voter turnout rate in Knesset elections since 1973.

Dina Levin, acting director general of Israel's Central Election Committee, said that this percentage means that more than 2.309 million Israelis have already cast their votes in the elections.

The total number of Israelis eligible to vote in the Knesset elections is 7.33 million, approximately 1.18 million of whom are from the Arab community, which is witnessing unprecedented voter turnout.

Thirty-six electoral lists are competing, with opinion polls suggesting that between 11 and 13 of them will cross the 3.25% threshold required for representation, distributing themselves across the 120 seats that make up the total number of Knesset members.

Israelis began casting their votes on Tuesday amid deep divisions, in the first election since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, serving as a test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's growing shift to the right.

The elections are taking place against the backdrop of three years of regional wars on multiple fronts ignited by the attack, while the shock remains strongly present, with issues of accountability and security dominating the campaign.

The fiercely contested elections come as Israel appears more isolated on the international stage due to its devastating military campaign in Gaza, accelerating settlement construction, rising violence in the occupied West Bank, and the growth of hardline religious nationalism.

The latest published opinion polls showed a tie between Netanyahu, who has served the longest term in Israel's history, and his main centrist rival Gadi Eisenkot, the former Chief of Staff and recent political newcomer, whose calm demeanor is seen as the opposite of the current prime minister's style.