Netanyahu’s Likud plans to film Arab voters outside polling stations as officials discuss alleging election rigging after significant losses

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party plans to deploy teams to film Arab voters outside polling stations during Tuesday’s general election, Haaretz reported. The party has spent millions of shekels recruiting and paying workers to monitor polling stations in Arab communities, record voters and relay developments to party headquarters in real time, the report said.

Established in recent weeks, the teams will operate outside polling stations to avoid strict regulations governing official election observers. Senior Likud officials have also discussed a campaign alleging the election was rigged if the party suffers significant losses. Sources close to Netanyahu say he is considering the proposal, although there is no evidence he personally attended meetings discussing the plan.

A senior Likud official involved in election operations described the party’s allegations of voting irregularities during Israel’s 2022 election as a “trial run” for the current vote. Likud sources indicated that footage collected by the teams could be circulated as purported evidence of electoral fraud, despite the teams having no legal authority to verify voters’ identities. The election is Israel’s first general election since the launch of the war on Gaza in October 2023.