Smotrich vows new settlements in Gaza as Israeli right questions Arab turnout

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza on Wednesday morning, speaking from the headquarters of his Religious Zionism party in Jerusalem. The statement came hours after Tuesday's vote concluded with an inconclusive result, leaving both major political camps without a clear majority in the 120-seat parliament. Smotrich dismissed celebrations by opposition figures, asserting that they would not reverse the government's expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. He noted that Israel dismantled its settlements in Gaza in 2005.

During the voting process on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Arab voters were rushing to polling stations. He argued that an opposition victory would threaten Israel's Jewish character. Netanyahu also accused three senior figures from the Arab-majority party Ra'am of attempting to steal the election. Police confirmed the arrest of three individuals on suspicion of voter bribery, though they indicated that none of the suspects held senior positions within Ra'am.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev of the Likud party amplified the theft allegations in a social media post. She wrote that opponents were trying to steal the elections and the country, framing the outcome as a choice between the right and Palestine. Earlier in the day, Smotrich had also posted on Facebook that turnout was unusually high in Arab communities and left-wing strongholds. He did not provide specific figures to support this claim and warned that a failure to mobilize right-wing voters could allow supporters of terror to enter the government.

With approximately 55 percent of ballots counted, projections showed Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing and religious parties winning 56 seats. This falls short of the 61 seats required to form a governing majority. The result places Arab-led parties in a decisive position to determine which coalition secures power. Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra'am, stated that he had been approached by both Netanyahu's Likud party and the opposition camp led by Gadi Eisenkot, the head of the Yashar party.

Arab political leaders condemned the election-day messages from the prime minister as racist and inflammatory. Dov Waxman, a British-American political scientist, observed that Netanyahu is likely to emphasize to the Israeli public that a governing coalition including Arab parties would be illegitimate. The statements from senior right-wing figures highlight the high stakes of the current parliamentary deadlock.