Israeli Opposition Accuses Netanyahu of Laying Groundwork to Allege Fraud if he Loses the Elections

Israel's main opposition party accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of laying the groundwork to allege fraud if he loses the election on Tuesday.

"Netanyahu is panicking and has begun making up stories and claiming that the election is being stolen. This is no accident. He is already laying the groundwork to challenge the election results," the party Yashar said.

The party went on to call voters to continue turning up at the polls to reduce chances of such claims having a hold. "Today's margin must be enormous, a lead that cannot be manipulated," the party added.

The statement comes after Netanyahu said senior members of Arab party Ra'am are "trying to steal the election from us." He claimed that senior party members were arrested with envelopes filled with money and are suspected of bribing voters. "It's criminal. They will reach every single person. You have been warned," Netanyahu said.

Voter turnout reached 44.9% at 2 p.m. local time, the highest figure recorded for that time in the country's history. "We have surpassed all the records kept by the Central Elections Committee. There hasn't been such a nationwide voter turnout since 1973," said Dean Livne, acting director general of the Central Elections Committee.

Netanyahu's Likud party is facing strong opposition from the party led by former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Yashar, and the coalition he could form.

Most polls are showing, however, that neither coalition has strong chances of achieving a majority of 61 seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, as neither has shown willingness to reach agreements with enough parties.

If neither side is able to form a coalition, Netanyahu will remain in power as the leader of a caretaker government until another election is held.

The elections are taking place against a backdrop of escalating internal and external tensions. A recent report showed that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir resisted orders from Netanyahu to carry out military action that could have led to escalation with Iran.

Local outlet Channel 12 described the situation as an "unprecedented confrontation" that has been unfolding over the past days. Citing anonymous military sources, it added that Zamir sought signed documents showing legal authorization for the action.

"This relates to an action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation," the source told the outlet. Another person familiar with the matter said the order raised the concern that Netanyahu was using "the Iranian issue for political benefit."

"History will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days," a senior security source said when describing the exchanges.

Netanyahu rejected the report. Speaking to government-friendly Channel 14, he called it "nonsense" and said there was "no fight" with Zamir.