Israel's Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Ban Armed Poll Watchers

Israel's Supreme Court on October 25, 2026, rejected a petition by the Adalah legal center and the Joint List party that sought to prohibit armed poll watchers from carrying weapons inside voting stations during Knesset elections. The petition was filed in response to announcements by the Likud and Religious Zionism parties that they intended to deploy approximately 2,000 poll watchers in Arab towns and mixed cities. Adalah stated the concern was that the presence of armed party representatives could intimidate Arab voters and lead to confrontations.

In its response to the petition, the state argued that there were no grounds to intervene in the police's professional assessment, which found no genuine fear or operational need to ban weapons for poll watchers. The state also indicated that armed watchers would receive specific instructions emphasizing that weapon use is solely for self-defense and that weapons should be carried discreetly. The police claimed there were no indications of anticipated disturbances, disruptions, or planned threats against voters.

The Supreme Court ruled that there were no reasons to interfere with the discretion of the police and the head of the election committee. Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz noted that the court acknowledged the petitioners' concerns as part of election day preparations. She stated that based on intelligence, situation assessments, and security arrangements, there were no grounds to alter existing instructions.

Adalah responded critically, asserting that the state and court "completely ignored" the core issue of deterring Arab voters through the presence of weapons carried by organized right-wing activists. The organization dismissed the court's reasoning about a tight timeline hindering security changes, claiming the prosecution's own response showed the police could have prepared for a ban on weapons in polling stations.