More than four million Israelis had already cast their ballots, with six hours of voting still remaining before polls close at 10 p.m.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli voter turnout continued to surge Tuesday afternoon, reaching 55.7% by 4 p.m. as participation remained at its highest level at this stage of Election Day in at least 57 years.
The latest figure was a remarkable 8.2 percentage points higher than at the same time in the previous election, according to the Central Elections Committee.
More than four million Israelis had already cast their ballots, with six hours of voting still remaining before polls close at 10 p.m.
The turnout gap has widened as Election Day has progressed. At 2 p.m., turnout stood at 44.9%, six percentage points above the previous election. By 4 p.m., the increase had grown to 8.2 points.
Preliminary turnout breakdowns indicated that a major surge in Arab participation, particularly in Bedouin communities where Ra’am draws significant support, was contributing heavily to the historic national numbers.
Turnout was also reported to be sharply higher in several predominantly Arab communities, while strong participation in left-leaning cities in central Israel was adding to the nationwide increase.
Traditional right-wing areas were also seeing turnout increases, although generally not on the same scale, while several haredi strongholds appeared to be running slightly behind their previous-election pace.
Among Israel’s major cities, turnout by 4 p.m. reached 51% in Rishon Lezion, 50% in Tel Aviv, 48% in Jerusalem, 47% in Beersheba and 46% in Haifa.
Haredi cities continued to record substantial participation in absolute terms, with turnout reaching 59% in Elad, 58.8% in Modi’in Illit, 53.3% in Bnei Brak and 52% in Beitar Illit. However, the figures represented a slight decline compared with their pace in the previous election.
The unusual turnout patterns could prove critical in an election where relatively small shifts between different sectors may determine the composition of the next Knesset.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking another term in office, while former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as his principal challenger. Several smaller parties are also fighting to clear the electoral threshold, meaning changes in turnout could have an outsized impact on the final distribution of seats.
A total of 7,331,981 Israelis are eligible to vote in the election for the 26th Knesset, including more than half a million new voters.
The Central Elections Committee will release additional turnout figures through the evening, with polls scheduled to close at 10 p.m. and the first television exit polls expected immediately afterward.
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