The unimaginable may have happened in tonight’s Israeli elections. Based on initial exit polls, the age of Benjamin Netanyahu may have come to an end. If exit polls are to be trusted, Benny Gantz may end up getting first crack at setting up a new government. Israel stood at the edge of a religious-nationalist abyss and, at the very last moment, took a step back.

The last voters were still lining up to cast their ballots at 10 p.m. when the exit polls were reported.

Adding to the uncertainty, Israeli exit polls have been inaccurate and unreliable in the past.

Actual results were expected to trickle in overnight.

NBC News’ Bill Neely reports from Tel Aviv where exit polls are showing Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu is falling short of the majority to maintain his position in the country’s election. Aired on 09/17/19.

In April, Netanyahu made a surprise visit to the beaches near Tel Aviv, exhorting sunbathers to go home and vote. This time, Yamina’s Ayelet Shaked and Kahol Lavan’s Yair Lapid hit the beaches as soon as they had voted themselves (and Gantz himself went to the beach later).

Netanyahu has made every Israeli politician a wanna-Bibi. One party leader texted Tuesday afternoon: “We are all fighting a digital election, and we don’t know what we’re doing. It’s Netanyahu’s ‘gevalt’ legacy.” Even if Netanyahu loses this election or is forced to resign soon after over his corruption investigations, his gevalt strategy is here to stay.

(3 hours ago)

„The media is reporting that there‘s a record voter turnout among the Left, and a low voter turnout among right-wing voters,“ he said to a crowd gathered at Jerusalem‘s central bus station,

„[The media] says the percentage of voters is surprising. It‘s high among the Arab population. It‘s not surprising. The Palestinian Authority is coming out with an official statement and I quote, ‚go out to vote and bring down Netanyahu'“.

(6 hours ago)

Netanjahu steht außerdem wegen Korruptionsvorwürfen unter Druck. Ihm droht nach einer Anhörung im Oktober die Anklage in drei Fällen wegen Bestechlichkeit, Betrugs und Untreue.

Bereits die Wahl im April war eine vorgezogene Neuwahl – ausgelöst durch den Koalitionsaustritt von Avigdor Liebermans Partei „Unser Haus Israel“. Deren Wählerbasis sind überwiegend die vielen russischen Immigranten.

In the April 9 election, only 49 percent of eligible Arab voters in Israel — an all-time low — exercised their civic right (compared with 68 percent nationally). Among Bedouin Arabs, participation dipped even below that, with barely 37 percent voting.

Based on conversations with friends and neighbors in Rahat, Abujafar predicted that overall participation among Israeli Arabs as a whole could be as high as 65 percent come 10 P.M.

1:51 P.M. Netanyahu gives illegal radio interview

Netanyahu gives interview to Galey Yisrael radio station, breaching section 129 of Israeli Election Law. Last week, Central Election Committee head Justice Hanan Melcer issued a clear directive forbidding radio and television interviews with candidates on Election Day.

The Central Election Committee said Netanyahu violated propaganda law on Monday, when he published poll statistics less than three days before Election Day.

A victory that ends with the establishment of a right-wing-ultra-Orthodox coalition will give him the authority – as far as he is concerned – to break Israeli democracy