Ben-Gvir touts mosque raids before Oct. 27 vote as Arab alliance asks election body to halt politically exploited demolitions and evictions

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has promoted punitive measures against Palestinian communities to bolster his standing ahead of the Oct. 27 parliamentary elections, including police raids and fines imposed on mosques.

Ben-Gvir highlighted a recent police raid on Al-Rahma Mosque in Tel Sheva, also known as Tel as-Sabi, in southern Israel. Officers issued fines over alleged violations of loudspeaker-volume rules, a measure he presented as part of a wider crackdown on religious calls to prayer across the country.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Joint Arab List alliance filed an urgent petition with the Central Elections Committee seeking to stop the political exploitation of home demolitions and evictions. The petition cited campaign media published by Ben-Gvir showing bulldozers flattening a residential building in the Al-Tur neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

The petition also said authorities had deliberately reactivated eviction orders that had been dormant for more than two decades, with enforcement dates scheduled to coincide with election day.