21:17: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 8 p.m. stands at 65.5%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 63.7%, or 4,071,398 voters. The turnout on Monday was the highest since the 1999 elections.

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19:19: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 6 p.m. stands at 56.3%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 53.5%, or 3,418,531 voters. The turnout on Monday was the highest since the 1999 elections.

17.30: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 4 p.m. stands at 47%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 44.3%, or 2,834,584 voters.

15.30: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 2 p.m. stands at 38.1%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 36.5%, or 2,331,974 voters.

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14:18: Facebook says it has suspended seven accounts it believes are fake for posts seeking to undermine voter turnout in the Arab sector. Over the past week, the social media giant has removed 30 fake profiles from its platform, citing the same reason.

14:02: Central Election Committee Chairman Justice Neal Handel has instructed the Likud to respond to a petition by the far-right Otzma Yehudit claiming the ruling party has been spreading rumors suggesting Otzma Yehudit had pulled out of the Knesset race.

Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben Gvir: "A red line in Israeli politics have been crossed. The panic and stress our rivals are under are leading them to break the law in an attempt to steal the elections. We will not be silenced."

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13:45: Labor-Gesher-Meretz leader Amir Peretz urged Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to "order his activists to cease their attacks on other members in the [Center-Left] bloc. I will be the responsible adult and I will not be degraded into this."

13:30: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 12 p.m. stands at 27.6%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 26.8%, or 1,713,936 voters.

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12:30: United Torah Judaism claims its voters have been receiving phone calls from unknown sources claiming that polling stations are closed or that they are registered as having voted. The party warns that this is an attempt to tamper with its electorate.

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11:53: The Central Election Committee reports that voter turnout as of 10 a.m. stands at 14.5%. Voter turnout for the same time during September's election stood at 15%, or 956,856 voters.

Video: GPO

11:21: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara voted in Jerusalem. The prime minister urged eligible voters to exercise their right, saying, "I call on everyone to vote – it's a great democratic privilege and we need to be proud of it"

He further cautioned against fake news, saying, "Don't listen to fake news that only try to prevent you from voting. Arrive at the polling stations with confidence and your head held high."

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10:32: Voting in third elections this year, President Reuven Rivlin said he felt "uneasy, ashamed even. The Israeli public did not deserve an election campaign that sunk to such lows. We simply didn't deserve this."

10:15: Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid voted in Tel Aviv and the public to exercise their democratic right to vote.

"I cast a ballot over the question of what country we will have tomorrow – a good, inclusive, decent and unifying country, or one of fear, hate, and polarization. Every Israeli should take a stand today on the question of where he wants to live."

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9:47: Yamina leader Naftali Bennett voted in Raanana. "These elections are not all about mud-slinging. There is another way, which is the love of the land of Israel. Go out and vote!"

9:45: Labor-Gesher-Meretz appealed to the Central Election Committee against Shas, claiming that representatives of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party were handing out charms to voters, in violation of election law. Labor-Gesher-Meretz asked the Central Election Committee to fine Shas.

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9:43: United Torah Judaism leader Yakov Litzman voted in Jerusalem. Litzman, who is also the health minister, urged the public to vote, saying the coronavirus poses no threat in polling stations.

"The Health Ministry has everything under control. Those who have been quarantined will vote in designated polling stations. The public can vote without hesitation," he said, urging everyone to "beware fake news. Only the Health Ministry can issue alerts about the coronavirus."

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9:41: Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh voted in Haifa. Speaking with reporters after he cast his ballot, Odeh said, "We cannot effect change in Israel without a partnership between Arabs and Jews."

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09:30:  Blue and White leader Benny Gantz voted in Rosh Haayin, in central Israel. Gantz called on all Israelis to exercise their right to vote, saying, "I hope this will be the day when we bring about change and start living with each other, stop the mud-slinging, the lying, and the manipulations. I urge everyone to vote."

9:26: Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz voted in Tel Aviv, saying, "Every ballot counts. This is the moment of truth and each and every one of us has the power to decide.  We won't allow for a fourth election to take place."

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9:25: Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben Gvir voted in Kiryat Arba, on the outskirts of Hebron. "This is a morning when we can create alternatives," he told reporters. "This is a morning to vote for people whose word is set in stone. I ask you to vote for Otzma Yehudit. We are the alternative."

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 09:10: Labor-Gesher-Meretz leader Amir Peretz voted in his hometown of Sderot, in southern Israel.

Speaking with reported after casting his ballot, Peretz urged the public to vote, saying, "This is the moment of truth. The political blocs are neck-and-neck in this race and victory is within reach. We can to it!"

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8:45: Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked called on Israelis to vote, saying, "We have to extract ourselves from this deadlock. I hope Yamina grows as much as possible."

8:12: Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman urged "the silent majority to vote." Speaking to reporters after voting in his home community of Nokdim, Lieberman said, "The results are crucial, they will decide between a halachic [religious] state and a strong Yisrael Beytenu. It's all up to the voters."

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8:00: Shas leader Aryeh Deri voted in Jerusalem, where he told reporters that the right-wing bloc "is very close to 60 seats. With a little effort, and if people don't waste their votes on Otzma Yehudit we'll get there."

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The 10,840 polling stations for Israel's third general election in under a year opened at 7 a.m. Monday morning, staffed by some 100,000 election workers.

Video: Reuters

Over 6.45 million Israelis are eligible to vote in the general elections, although the prevailing assessment leading up to Election Day was that a sense of alienation and frustration caused by the ongoing political impasse which has reigned since the April 9, 2019 election would lead to unusually low voter turnout.

The Sept. 17, 2019 election saw voter turnout of 69.83%, slightly higher than the voter turnout for the April 9 election, which stood at 68.5%.

To ensure that as many eligible voters as possible can exercise their right, the Central Elections Committee decided that 650 intercity bus lines, as well as the nation's trains, would offer free transportation.

The minimum electoral threshold (the percentage of the vote that a party must receive to make it into the Knesset) remains at 3.25%.

Polls will remain open until 10 p.m. Monday evening, with the exception of small local authorities with 350 or fewer registered voters, where polls will close at 8 p.m. Over 18,000 members of the Israel Police, Border Guards, and police volunteers, in addition to thousands of civilian security guards, are on duty at polling places to ensure that voters can cast ballots safely.

Meanwhile, Israel has imposed a general closure on Judea and Samaria and on crossings to and from the Gaza Strip. The closure will remain in place until midnight Monday, at which time the crossings are scheduled to reopen.

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According to demographic projections, when Israel celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2048, it will have a population of 15 million.

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According to the CBS data, 43.2% of the population is secular, with 12.8% defined as "traditional," 11.3% "religious," and 10.1% ultra-Orthodox. Another 22.1% define themselves as "traditional but not very religious."

Heading into the new year, Israel's Jewish population numbers 6.74 million, or 74.2% of the total population. The Arab population numbers 1.91 million, or 21% of the population. Another 4.8%, or just over 440,000 Israelis, made aliyah under the Law of Return but are not listed as Jewish by the Interior Ministry's Population Administration.

Since Rosh Hashanah 2018, Israel's population grew by 184,000 (2.1%), a growth rate that has remained fairly stable in recent years. This past year also saw an all-time high birth rate for Israel, with 196,000 babies born. The average Israeli woman gives birth to 3.09 children.

According to the numbers, Israel also has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, approximately 3 out of every 1,000 births.

A total of 45,000 Israelis died this year. Women live longer, on average, than men, with the average life expectancy for women in Israel reaching 84.8, compared to 80.9 for men. The most common cause of death in Israel? Cancer: This past year, 25.2% of Israelis who died succumbed to the disease. Heart disease, which claimed 14.8% of Israeli deaths this past year, was the second-most common cause of death.

The CBS listed 2,587,100 households and families in Israel, with an average number of 3.28 members. Some 2 million households are defined as "traditional" families (a mother, a father, and children), while the rest are made up of unmarried partners (including same-sex couples).

Divorce rates held steady, with one out of three married couples in Israel divorcing. This past year saw 50,029 couples marry and 14,741 divorce.

However, a high birth rate is not the only factor that affects Israel's population growth. the CBS numbers, some 38,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel this past year, compared to 35,000 the previous year. Since Israel was founded, 3.3 million people have immigrated here from abroad.

How is the Jewish population outside of Israel doing? According to estimates published by Professor Sergio Della Pergola of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the American Jewish Year Book 2019, the global Jewish stood at some 14.8 million ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Of this year's nearly 15 million Jews, an estimated 8.1 million live outside of Israel, including 5.7 million in the United States.

Part of this article was reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The survey indicated that 84% of Israelis were happy with their area of residence. One-third of Israelis live in the same community in which they grew up.

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Among cities with populations over 100,000, Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv were rated highest, with 96% of Kfar Saba residents and 91% of Tel Avivians satisfied with their communities of residence.

Fifty-eight percent of Israelis said they were satisfied with the amount of green spaces (public gardens and parks) in their communities. The cities deemed greenest by residents were Kfar Saba, with 84% of residents satisfied with the amount of green spaces, and Ramat Gan, with 77% satisfied with the city's amount of green spaces. A total of 63% of Jerusalem residents said they were dissatisfied with the amount of green spaces in the capital.

How clean are Israel's cities? The survey indicated that only 56% of Israelis were satisfied with the level of cleanliness in their communities. The highest rate of satisfaction with municipal cleanliness was in Kfar Saba, with 77%, followed by Rishon Lezon (65%). Only 37% of Jerusalemites were satisfied with the cleanliness – or lack thereof – in the city.

When it comes to the numbers of residents who live in the same communities where they grew up, Jerusalem came out on top, with 63% of residents born and bred. There was a notable gap between Jewish and Arab communities – 80% of Israeli Arabs live in the same community where they grew up, compared to only 24% of Jewish Israelis.

There were also gaps between the religious and secular populations when it came to leaving one's native town: only 17% of secular Israelis live in the communities where they were raised, compared to 27% of modern Orthodox; 29% of Israelis who define themselves as "traditional," and 31% of ultra-Orthodox Israelis.

Out of the 16 largest cities in Israel, Netanya had the largest percentage of residents who say they plan to remain in the city, with 89% digging the Netanyan life. The coastal city was followed by Jerusalem, 88% of whose residents said they planned to stay, and Kfar Saba, with 87% planning to remain for the long-term.

A total of 83% of Israelis age 20 or older said they planned to live in their current communities for the next five years, with 11% saying they planned to leave within five years and 7% uncertain.

Among Arabs, a much higher percentage of residents (90%) said they planned to remain in their current communities for the next five years, compared to 81% of Jews. More married (88%) than single (65%) Israelis said they planned to stay put for the next five years.

The survey also looked at new arrivals. Out of the 16 largest cities in Israel, the largest "new" population – defined as having arrived in the city within the last 10 years – is in Ramat Gan (40% newcomers), followed by Beit Shemesh (36% new residents), and Tel Aviv-Jaffa, 34% of whose residents have lived there for under 10 years.

Do people work where they live? Almost half of employed Israelis (42%) work in their communities of residence, the survey indicated, while 46% work elsewhere.

Out of Israel's 16 largest cities, Jerusalem had the highest percentage of residents who work in the city (86%), followed by Beit Shemesh (70%). In Bat Yam, which lies to the south of Tel Aviv, only 20% of residents are employed in the city.

If nearly half of Israelis work outside their hometowns, how are they commuting? The CBS survey showed that only 38% were satisfied with public transportation in their home communities. The cities in which residents are most satisfied with public transportation are Bat Yam (56%), Beersheba (54%), Bnei Brak, and Haifa (53% each).

Sixty-one percent of Israeli workers commute using their own cars or vehicles, including motorcycles. Only 16% commute on buses. Eight percent commute by bike or on foot, and only 3% commute using the train.

How much time is spent commuting? Nearly a third (32%) of Israeli workers said it took them less than 15 minutes to get to work, with 26% reporting commutes of 15-30 minutes, and 37% commuting half an hour or more, one way. For 5% of workers, traffic and public transportation snafus make it difficult for them to predict when they will arrive at work.

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