Gains for Arab-led parties have electrified Taibe, in central Israel, even as voters elsewhere in Israel say they have no place in any future government.
Ahmad Tibi, a leader of the Joint List party, with supporters on Tuesday outside a polling station in Taibe, Israel, a predominantly Arab town. βWeβre ready to swallow frogs to take down Netanyahuβs government,β he said.
Some groups stood by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuβs party, but support fell off among others. Turnout was also a striking factor in the election.
The Arab parties have long been kept on the political sidelines. But stunning turnout by their supporters makes the Arab minority an Israeli political reality that cannot be ignored.
As Israel votes, ever more strident hard-right views compete with hopes for a diverse land. The outcome could shape the countryβs identity for years.
A banner for the Likud party and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, with the slogan, βThe Right or Palestine.β Other candidates in the elections are to the left of it.
Supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have expressed intense anxieties about isolation abroad, security at home and the future of Israelβs identity.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israelβs prime minister, speaking to supporters in the food court of a shopping mall in Holon, Israel, during a campaign visit this month.
The operation, focused on the city of Hebron, the site of Friday's attack, came as Israel enters the final days before a tense election, which is largely seen as a referendum on current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership and security policies during the past three years of war.
Hundreds of Palestinian families fled their homes as the Israeli military raided Hebron. The operation came a day after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in the occupied West Bank on Friday morning that also left two suspected gunmen dead, the military said, violence that is likely to heighten political tensions and security concerns ahead of Israel's parliamentary election next week.
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