Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners made a last-ditch push to get their supporters to the polls before the elections closed, warning of surging Palestinian voter turnout, a tactic Palestinian politicians denounced as "racist" and "inflammatory."
Cars flying Netanyahu's Likud party flags drove through West Jerusalem on Tuesday blaring the Islamic call to prayer and urging supporters to cast their ballots because "Arabs are voting", witnesses said.
In a series of posts, Netanyahu highlighted long queues at polling stations in Palestinian communities and published an image that he said showed Palestinians, including women in niqabs, waiting to vote.
"If we don't wake up now, we'll find ourselves with a government of Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi," he said in a post, referring to two leading Palestinian Arab politicians in Israel.
As of 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT), voter turnout reached 74.3 per cent, according to the Israeli Central Elections Committee.
Palestinians in Israel make up about 21 percent of population of 10 million and have traditionally voted at lower rates than Jewish Israelis.
Tibi, a candidate from an Arab party, said strong turnout among Israel's Palestinian minority would "pave the way for an alternative government and change the grave reality".
Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Arab Balad party, wrote on X that long lines outside polling stations should bring "pride and joy to anyone who believed in democracy".
"We are receiving all these inciting messages from the petty racists, Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu, and their partners. What are they afraid of? This is actually an excellent sight, it is good for democracy."
Palestinian Arabs called 'threat' by Netanyahu
Netanyahu's false claims echoed previous election campaigns in which he sought to mobilise extremist supporters by portraying strong Palestinian participation as a threat, drawing accusations of racism from opponents.
The election is the first since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Four years of Netanyahu's extremist coalition have coincided with a surge in violent crimes in Israel's Arab communities, including many murders linked to organised crime.
Polls suggest Netanyahu's coalition is on course to lose its parliamentary majority, although opposition parties may also struggle to secure the 61 seats needed to form a majority government.
Extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has overseen a policy of destroying homes of Palestinian that were built illegally, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has promoted "Judaising" areas in northern and southern Israel where many Arabs live.
Both ministers have been sanctioned by Western countries over accusations they incited violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, Ben-Gvir described the level of Palestinian voter turnout as "crazy", urging supporters to vote for his Jewish Power party if they wanted the country to be Jewish and Zionist.
Smotrich's Religious Zionism party said the finance minister had suspended his election day campaigning to convene an emergency meeting to discuss what it described as unusually high turnout among Palestinian voters.
Smotrich told his far-right voters to cast their ballots, saying that turnout "in the Arab sector is unprecedented" and that a "dangerous left-wing government" could take power.
Netanyahu tense in final voting hours
With Palestinian voters in Israel turning out in strong numbers until last election hour, Netanyahu raised fears that leaders of the minority group were out to "steal the election" and reverse the hardline Jewish extremist direction in which his government has taken the country.
Netanyahu's Likud Party also unsuccessfully asked election authorities to keep polls open past 10 pm (2000 GMT), as the opposition charged that he was looking for pretexts to challenge the results.
"We cannot leave this battle here in the hands of the left and the Arab parties that want to bring an end to the Jewish state," a visibly tense Netanyahu told supporters as he tried to bring up turnout in a Likud stronghold.
"So no barbecues, don't go to the beach — go to the polling station and vote Likud," he said.
Some 7.3 million people were eligible to vote, with tens of thousands of Israelis estimated to have flown in from abroad, mainly US, for an election seen as crucial to deciding the future character of their country.
Netanyahu also claimed that three senior officials of the United Arab List had been arrested with envelopes full of cash in the south.
The acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livne, said that police had "caught individuals who tried to bribe voters", adding that the unidentified suspects were not at polling stations and were caught near their homes.
United Arab List head Mansour Abbas, who could emerge as a kingmaker in a close election, said Netanyahu is "lying and inciting" to mobilise his voters.
He told Israel’s i24News that the opposition must secure 61 seats for a majority, noting that support from his party is essential to unseat Netanyahu. He also said Israeli police are seizing ballot boxes in the town of Arara in the Negev.
