Bezalel Smotrich

In Umm al-Fahm, turnout reached 56.1% by 6 p.m., compared with a final turnout of 51.33% in 2022, an increase of 4.77 percentage points, with several hours of voting still remaining.

Israel’s proportional representation system gives voters a voice, but coalition deals often determine who governs. Is it time for reform?

Some voters interviewed in Jerusalem reflected that shift. “I just know I don’t want Bibi,” said a woman in Mahane Yehuda who is leaning toward Bennett, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

Some of the measures were planned in cooperation with the Bank of Israel. The next government will be responsible for implementing the policy.

Foremost among these plans is the possibility of a historic normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, a prospect difficult to envision advancing while Ben-Gvir and Smotrich sit at the cabinet table.

The test for any coalition should be whether it can protect the country while governing responsibly at home and maintaining credibility abroad.

More than four-fifths of respondents to the IDI survey for first-time voters described the opportunity to vote as either “fairly meaningful” or “very meaningful.”

Rising global oil prices amid expectations of renewed fighting with Iran, coupled with the expiration of Smotrich's fuel tax cut on November 3, are expected to drive fuel prices sharply higher.

The protest comes in response to an attack on three young Druze men at a club in Tel Aviv overnight between Thursday and Friday, after they were heard speaking Arabic among themselves.

“I believe that only if Ofer Winter passes the electoral threshold will Bibi [Netanyahu] have a full right-wing government,” he added. “That is what I hope will happen.”