Israeli right makes provocative statements as election votes are counted

As exit polls suggested a setback for Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliance, Israeli right-wing figures made provocative remarks about Arab voters, alleged election fraud and settlements in Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to continue expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank and said Jewish settlements would be established in Gaza, where Israel dismantled its settlements in 2005. He claimed, without providing figures, that turnout was unusually high in Arab communities and left-wing strongholds. Netanyahu also warned that Arab voters were heading to polling stations in large numbers and accused three Ra’am figures of trying to steal the election; police confirmed the arrest of three people suspected of voter bribery, with no indication they were senior party figures.