Israelis began casting their ballots on Tuesday as polls opened at 7:00 a.m. local time for a general election to fill all 120 seats in the Knesset. It is the first election held on schedule in Israel since 1988, taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the occupation of southern Lebanon, and military operations against Iran and the United States.
Around 7.3 million eligible voters can cast their ballots at 12,018 polling stations housing 18,000 ballot boxes across the country. Voting will close at 10:00 p.m. local time (23:00 Turkish time), after which exit polls are expected to be released. Official results must be announced within eight days, following the review of any objections.
More than 30 parties and electoral lists are competing for parliamentary representation, with the electoral threshold set at 3.25 percent. Polling suggests that between 11 and 12 parties are likely to clear the threshold. The most closely watched contest is between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, with recent surveys showing the two in a near-tie.
Approximately 1.2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel — roughly 21 percent of the total population — are eligible to vote. Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, numbering over 750,000, are also voting. By contrast, around 6 million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the blockaded Gaza Strip hold no Israeli citizenship and are therefore excluded from the vote.
Soldiers and officers began voting on October 20 at more than 850 military facilities in territories occupied or controlled by Israel, including parts of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Voter turnout in the last general election in 2022 stood at 70.63 percent.
