Likud rebellion and Arab turnout fears roil final pre-election hours

Benny Begin publicly turns on Netanyahu; right-wing bloc panics over potential 75% Arab voter surge.

Likud rebellion and Arab turnout fears roil final pre-election hours — Former minister Benny Begin, son of the late prime minister, released a video today (Sunday) attacking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling on Likud voters to vote for opposition parties.[^1] "In recent days, we have seen Netanyahu stressed, frightened, terrified," Begin said. "Yesterday he threatened us with destroying Israel's economy, and today he threatened us with dropping an atomic bomb on Tel Aviv accompanied by a frightening AI image. Such a prime minister is a threat to all of us."[^1] He directly addressed Likud members: "Put an end to this government, send them to the opposition. Vote on Tuesday for parties that will bring about a change of government now."[^1] The revolt from within Likud's own ideological lineage comes as the right-wing bloc is gripped by a different fear: a surge in Arab voter turnout. Two days before the elections, Netanyahu warned in closed conversations of a surge to 75% turnout in Arab society, which could yield between 16 and 17 seats for Arab parties.[^2] Channel 14 reports that the right identifies complacency in the face of an awakening in the left-Arab bloc.[^2] Democratic Party chairman Yair Golan appealed to Arab voters during a visit to an Arab town in the north, telling them they could "topple Winter and Handel."[^3] Meanwhile, in Druze society, where over 100,000 voters exist but only 50,000 voted last time, efforts are underway to mobilize the vote.[^2] The scramble for every ballot is intensifying. The Central Elections Committee is preparing for an unprecedented number of double envelopes — between 600,000 and 650,000 Israelis are expected to vote this way, a record that could shift outcomes.[^4] With 7,331,981 eligible citizens, 12,018 polling stations, and 450 million ballots being printed, the election budget stands at 690 million shekels and the committee's workforce grows to about 100,000 on election day.[^5] The question is whether the right's fear of an Arab surge is a genuine threat or a last-minute mobilizing tool — and whether Benny Begin's appeal can actually peel off enough Likud votes to matter. Saudi missile defenses in