Netanyahu Calls Police Chief, Ben-Gvir for Election Integrity Talks Amid Legal Challenge

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has summoned Police Inspector General Dani Levi for a phone meeting on "election integrity" scheduled for Sunday, October 25. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir will also attend. Notably, opposition leader Yair Lapid and any representatives from the Central Election Committee were not initially invited, prompting constitutional law experts to question the meeting's legality. The responsibility for ensuring election integrity rests with Election Commission Chairman Judge Noam Solberg, not the Prime Minister.

The National Unity Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, demanded the immediate cancellation of the call, a stance supported by the government's Legal Advisor Gali Baharav-Miara. Judge Solberg ultimately permitted the meeting but stipulated that discussions must be limited to security arrangements for the elections, not their integrity. He stated that Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu are permitted to discuss public order issues with the Police Inspector General, but not election preparations or integrity.

The Prime Minister's office claimed such meetings are standard practice before every election, a statement refuted by Baharav-Miara, who stated no such meetings are known to have occurred previously. Dani Levi had previously refused a similar meeting at Ben-Gvir's office but is expected to participate in the call with Netanyahu. Levi is scheduled to separately discuss election preparations with Solberg and the acting Director General of the Central Election Committee later on October 25.

Eisenkot criticized the meeting, suggesting it could be used to pressure civil servants and undermine confidence in the election results. He argued that Netanyahu, as a participant in the election, does not oversee its integrity and that the Police Inspector General is not subordinate to him on this matter. Eisenkot expressed concern that the meeting aims to create a false impression of election irregularities to preemptively erode public trust, suggesting Netanyahu fears defeat and is attempting to exert political pressure.

Ben-Gvir, however, described the meeting as a "routine part of the work" of the country's leadership, asserting that summoning the police chief for a briefing on election preparations is a common and accepted step taken by previous ministers. He emphasized that such discussions between the Prime Minister, National Security Minister, and Police Inspector General are normal and legal in a democracy.

The Likud party stated the call would focus on security, complementing a prior meeting with all security chiefs regarding security threats. They also proposed Solberg send a representative. Netanyahu's attorney, Ilan Bombach, later informed Solberg of "extremely serious and disturbing warnings" from security agencies about specific threats from terrorist elements intending to disrupt or influence the elections.

Separately, the Arab party United List and the Adalah human rights center filed a petition with the High Court of Justice (Bagatz) seeking to prohibit observers and election workers from carrying weapons at polling stations. This action was prompted by statements from Likud and the Religious Zionism party on October 15, announcing their intention to deploy approximately 2,000 observers to polling stations in areas with concentrated Arab populations. The petitioners argue that the presence of armed individuals could intimidate Arab voters and, given the political tension and rhetoric portraying Arab citizens as a threat to election integrity, could lead to violent clashes.