Israeli ministers allege widespread voter fraud in Arab sector, call to disqualify votes

Israeli lawmakers and government ministers cite accuse Islamist party of orchestrating large-scale voter fraud operation, demand election committee toss out all votes for that faction.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A group of Israeli government ministers and right-wing lawmakers on Wednesday demanded an urgent investigation into allegations of widespread voter fraud in the Arab sector during Tuesday’s Knesset election, accusing the United Arab List (Ra’am) party of orchestrating a large-scale vote-buying operation that may have influenced the election results.

In a letter to Central Elections Committee chairman Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg and Shin Bet director David Zini, the signatories called for the disqualification of all votes cast for Ra’am, the immediate interrogation of its lawmakers and activists, and an investigation into organizations allegedly involved in bribing voters.

The letter was initiated by Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, chairman of the Knesset Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, and signed by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, Constitution Committee chairman Simcha Rothman, MK Ohad Tal, Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin and several other political figures.

The signatories accused Ra’am and organizations associated with the southern branch of the Islamic Movement of engaging in what they described as “wholesale bribery” intended to manipulate the election results.

“It appears that we are witnessing the theft of the election by the Ra’am party,” the letter stated.

The accusations follow the arrest of three residents of Bedouin communities in the Negev on Tuesday on suspicion of attempting to bribe voters to support Ra’am.

Police said officers searching the suspects’ homes discovered envelopes containing tens of thousands of shekels in cash, along with voting slips and other materials believed to be connected to an attempted vote-buying scheme.

According to the letter, one of the suspects is a senior figure in Aid 48, a charity affiliated with the Islamic Movement, which is also closely associated with Ra’am.

The signatories alleged that some of the seized envelopes bore the inscription “Gift from the Islamic Movement” and that the money was intended to encourage voters to support Ra’am.

The lawmakers further claimed that election observers and polling station officials in numerous Arab communities had reported seeing voters carrying fuel vouchers and gift cards allegedly distributed outside polling stations.

According to the letter, some voters acknowledged receiving the cards in exchange for voting for Ra’am.

The signatories argued that the alleged distribution of cash and vouchers may have been part of a coordinated nationwide operation involving individuals and organizations associated with the Islamic Movement.

The letter also pointed to the sharp increase in voter turnout among Arab Israelis, which reportedly reached approximately 80% on Tuesday, compared with 53.2% in the 2022 election and 44.6% in 2021.

The signatories described the turnout increase as statistically inexplicable, claiming that the previous high over the past 25 years was 64.8%.

“The turnout rates in the Arab sector inexplicably and without any statistical logic jumped dramatically yesterday, reaching 80% in the current Knesset election,” the lawmakers wrote.

“From all of the above, it is clear to everyone that these exceptional turnout figures, by any standard, did not occur on their own.”

The election also saw a nationwide turnout of 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades.

The letter additionally raised concerns over Aid 48’s previous activities, citing investigations into alleged financial connections between the charity and organizations associated with Hamas.

In July 2025, Israel’s Registrar of Associations recommended dissolving Aid 48 following findings concerning financial transfers to organizations designated as terrorist groups and irregularities involving large amounts of cash.

The lawmakers called for investigators to determine whether the organization’s financial activities were connected to the suspected election bribery operation.

They demanded that authorities “locate and prosecute the entire criminal network, from the leaders of the Islamic Movement to the last distributors of fuel vouchers and cash envelopes to voters.”

The signatories also called for the blanket disqualification of votes cast for Ra’am and for its representatives to be prevented from entering the Knesset until the allegations have been investigated.

They further demanded that all outgoing and incoming Ra’am lawmakers, party candidates, and employees and members of associated Islamic Movement organizations be summoned for immediate questioning.

The letter requested an official public statement outlining the suspected election bribery operation and its possible effect on the distribution of Knesset seats.

“The very suspicion of election theft on such a broad scale causes inconceivable harm to freedom of choice in Israel and public confidence in the election results,” the lawmakers wrote.

They demanded that authorities begin investigating immediately and report back to the signatories within 24 hours.

“We will not allow this serious affair to be ignored or swept under the rug,” the letter concluded, pledging to use all available means to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Ra’am has denied wrongdoing in connection with Tuesday’s arrests, accusing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of using the police to suppress Arab voter participation.

“We categorically reject attempts by elements within the police to link Ra’am to the compromising of electoral integrity,” the party said in a statement.

Ra’am maintained that the suspects were arrested hours before polling stations opened and were not detained near voters or polling places.

According to Channel 12, one of the suspects, a physician who acknowledged being a Ra’am activist, denied involvement in bribery.

“I held house meetings to encourage people to vote for Ra’am. I am an activist, but I have nothing to do with any election bribery,” he said.

The physician was released by a court, while two other suspects had their detention extended.

The investigation into the suspected bribery scheme was transferred to the police’s Lahav 433 national investigations unit.

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