Israeli Court Asked to Ban Guns at Polls Amid Arab Voter Intimidation Fears

The Adalah Legal Center and the Joint List filed an urgent petition to Israel's Supreme Court on October 22, 2026, demanding a ban on weapons carried by officials inside polling stations during the upcoming Knesset elections. The petition was prompted by the Likud and Religious Zionism parties' announcement earlier in October to deploy approximately 2,000 observers, many of them students from Religious Zionism's seminaries, in polling stations located in "Arab communities." Adalah and the Joint List argued that armed presence in polling stations, especially amid heightened political tensions and a campaign falsely accusing Arab citizens of threatening election integrity, could deter voters, undermine the electoral process, and potentially lead to violence. They requested an expedited court hearing.

The petition specifically targets a directive from the Israel Police's Security and Licensing Department dated October 1, 2026, which explicitly permits election officials and party representatives with valid firearm licenses to carry their personal weapons inside polling stations. The Central Elections Committee stated the matter falls under police authority, while neither the police nor the National Security Minister provided a substantive response to the petitioners' urgent request to revoke the directive. Adalah attorney Ari Remez asserted that the directive constitutes baseless racial profiling against Arab citizens and their representatives, aiming to delegitimize them rather than ensure election fairness.

The petitioners warned that armed officials could be used to intimidate voters, particularly within minority communities. They emphasized that the presence of weapons could compromise the sense of security among Arab citizens, erode their trust in the electoral process, and incite violence. The petition stressed the authorities' duty to protect the constitutional right to free and fair elections and to maintain public order and human life. They claimed that deploying political activists in Arab and mixed cities, under the guise of election observation but framed as a response to an alleged Arab threat, could provoke tensions, asserting that authorities have the power to prevent such risks.

Adalah and the Joint List urged the court to order authorities to prohibit weapons in polling stations and to schedule an urgent hearing to resolve the issue before election day. Professor Yousef Jabareen, head of the Joint List, stated, "We will do our utmost to stop the attempt by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to bring armed settlers into our polling stations. Bringing weapons into polling stations is a serious provocation that cannot be accepted, and we hope the court will ensure the integrity of the elections and protect the right of all citizens to vote without intimidation." The Supreme Court has ordered respondents to submit their replies by noon on October 25, 2026.