Israel: High Arab turnout sparks snap Likud meeting

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli right-wing Likud party called for an emergency meeting on Tuesday due to high turnout among Arab communities and leftist strongholds, local news reported.

According to Israeli Channel 7, Likud Party leaders will convene at the prime minister's residence for an "emergency gathering".

A Likud spokesman said the meeting was called "due to the high voter turnout in the Arab sector and leftist strongholds."

The Arab Joint List group announced on Tuesday that voting rates had increased slightly in Arab localities relative to the April elections.

It added, however, that there was a big difference in the overall turnout compared to the 2015 ballot.

Israel is holding its second general elections this year, due to premier Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to form a government after the previous poll conducted in April. Observers expect there may be a third round of elections if the crisis of forming government continues.

The Israeli Central Elections Committee said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 6.3 million people were eligible to vote at 10,915 polling stations across Israel which are set to close at 10:00 p.m. (1900GMT) on Tuesday.

Thirty-two electoral lists are competing for 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset. Observers and opinion polling centers expect only 10 of those lists to win the parliamentary race.