Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned allies in an emergency meeting that his coalition could lose the national election, while separately alleging that his opponents are attempting to “steal” the vote. Netanyahu cited a police bribery investigation and increased turnout in Arab-majority sectors as a basis for his concerns, making several public appeals for his supporters to vote as the race tightened.
The accusations stem from the arrest of three Ra’am party activists in the Negev who were found with envelopes containing tens of thousands of shekels. While the Central Elections Committee called the bribery case an isolated incident, party leaders accused Netanyahu of trying to delegitimize Palestinian-Israeli citizens who make up 20% of the population. Voter participation reached 44.9% on election day, a significant increase from the 38.9% recorded in the previous cycle.