Netanyahu accuses Arab party of election fraud as voting begins
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Arab politicians of trying to steal the election on Tuesday, citing the arrest of three people suspected of attempting to buy votes for the Raam party.
The party’s leader, Mansour Abbas, called the accusation a lie intended to mobilise right-wing voters.
Netanyahu said the three senior Raam officials had been arrested with envelopes of cash in southern Israel. He urged supporters to vote for his Likud party, warning against Arab parties and the political left.
“We cannot leave this battle here in the hands of the left and the Arab parties that want to bring an end to the Jewish state,” Netanyahu said.
Raam, also known as the United Arab List, could play a decisive role in forming an opposition-led coalition if the election produces a close result.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is lying and inciting against the United Arab List, using it as a scare tactic to mobilise right-wing voters and drive them to the polls,” Abbas said in a video message.
Police confirmed that three people had been arrested overnight on suspicion of trying to buy votes for Raam. Officers seized more than NIS 24,000, or about $7,900, in cash, including prepared envelopes and notes, during searches of the suspects’ homes. The investigation is ongoing.
Acting Central Elections Committee director general Dean Livne described the incident as “unusual” and said the suspects were caught near their homes, not at polling stations. He added that there were no similar incidents reported elsewhere in the country.
The Yashar party, led by Netanyahu’s main challenger Gadi Eisenkot, accused the prime minister of “laying the groundwork to challenge the results”.
Meanwhile, Arab Israeli advocacy group Adalah reported obstacles to voting in Arab towns, including delays and polling stations being closed temporarily. The group said it had raised the complaints with the election committee.
The committee said there were no current indications of systematic tampering with ballot slips, according to the Times of Israel.