Israel’s top court rejects bid to ban firearms at polling stations ahead of elections

By Abdel Ra'ouf Arnaout and Rania Abushamala

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected a petition seeking to prohibit polling station officials and party representatives from carrying firearms inside voting facilities during Tuesday’s parliamentary elections, according to the Arab rights group Adalah.

In a statement Monday, Adalah said the court dismissed the petition, which it filed with the Joint List, on Sunday evening.

The petition followed announcements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party that they planned to deploy around 2,000 observers to polling stations in Arab towns and cities with mixed Jewish and Arab populations.

Adalah said the plans raised concerns that armed observers could “intimidate Arab voters, which could also spark violent confrontations.”

The petitioners cited previous incidents in which voters had reportedly been intimidated by people brandishing firearms, warning that the presence of armed civilians could lead to the unlawful use of lethal force.

They argued that the risks were heightened when weapons were carried by untrained civilians sent to polling stations in Arab communities amid what they described as “a racist incitement campaign that portrays Arab citizens as a threat.”

- Court defers to police judgement

According to Adalah, the state argued that there were no grounds for judicial intervention in the police’s professional assessment, which found no concrete threat or operational need to impose a firearms ban.

The state also said there were no indications of plans to disrupt voting or threaten voters.

The court accepted the state’s position and declined to intervene in decisions made by the police and the Central Elections Committee chair not to impose a ban, Adalah said.

According to the group, the court emphasized that police have broad discretion in matters of security and public order, with judicial intervention limited to exceptional circumstances. It also found that police had considered the petitioners’ concerns in their election preparations.

There was no immediate comment from the court on Adalah’s account.

- Intimidation of voters

Responding to the ruling, Adalah said the state and the Central Elections Committee had ignored the petition’s central argument: that organized groups of armed right-wing activists inside polling stations could intimidate Arab voters.

The group said the committee chair’s decision to allow party representatives to carry firearms relied on a police security assessment conducted before Likud and Religious Zionism announced their election-day plans.

“The Court’s decision allows those taking part in Netanyahu and Smotrich’s provocation to show up at polling stations in Arab communities like armed militias,” Adalah said.

Israel holds parliamentary elections Tuesday amid a closely contested race between Netanyahu’s bloc and its opponents. Arab voter turnout could play a significant role in determining the balance of power in the 120-seat Knesset and the prospects for forming the next government.

Polls indicate that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the Jewish opposition parties will secure the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority, potentially leading to a unity government, another election or an alliance with Arab parties.

Both blocs have so far ruled out forming a governing coalition with Arab parties.

Rania R.a. Abushamala