Party leaders cast ballots as polls open, urge supporters to vote

Party leaders begin casting their ballots as polling stations open across Israel, urging supporters to turn out in force in an election that will determine the country’s next government.

Democrats leader Yair Golan votes in Rosh Ha’ayin alongside his wife and grandson, declaring: “Today, we are saving Israel.”

“We fought for four years in the streets, and now we’re taking the fight to the ballot box,” he says, calling for a strong Democrats presence in the next government.

The leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, votes in Kiryat Arba alongside his wife, warning that a victory for the opposing bloc would produce “a Mansour Abbas government.”

“Netanyahu will be prime minister, and we will be the right-wing standard-bearer of that government,” he says.

“For the sake of the people of Israel, for the eternity of Israel, for the unity of Israel. Vote with your heart, and we will achieve great success,” says People of Israel chairman Ofer Winter as he casts his ballot in Mitzpe Netofa.

Winter has pledged to support a Netanyahu-led government, but his party has consistently polled below the electoral threshold. Whether it manages to enter the Knesset could prove significant in determining the balance of the blocs.

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen, meanwhile, calls the election a “fateful day,” saying the Arab public “believes in its ability to bring about change and send the fascist government packing.”

Arab voter turnout could prove decisive in the closely contested election, with Jabareen having pledged to support any government capable of replacing Netanyahu’s coalition, even from outside the governing coalition.