Shortage of Arabic ballot papers reported in Israel elections

Palestinian citizens of Israel have reported shortages of Arabic-language ballot papers at several polling stations during Tuesday's parliamentary elections, prompting a rights group to demand urgent intervention over concerns that Arab voters are being denied equal access to the vote.

The Haifa-based Adalah Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights said it had received complaints from voters and election observers since polling stations opened on Tuesday morning, reporting the absence of Arabic-language ballot papers in several Arab towns and mixed cities.

The complaints came from Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Haifa, Nazareth, I'billin, Eilabun, Shefa-Amr and Nof HaGalil, according to a statement issued by the organisation.

Adalah subsequently sent an urgent letter to the head of Israel's Central Elections Committee, demanding that Arabic-language ballot papers be supplied immediately to all affected polling stations and that clear instructions be issued to election officials.

The organisation warned that the shortages undermined the right of Palestinian citizens of Israel to participate in elections on an equal footing.

It stressed that Arabic is the mother tongue of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters and that providing ballot papers in the language is essential to ensuring fair and accessible elections.

Rami Haidar, media coordinator for the Joint List, told *The New Arab *that most reported shortages had occurred in mixed cities, where Palestinian and Jewish residents live alongside one another.

"We are in contact with the relevant authorities to resolve this problem," he said.

Arab party alleges systematic attempts to obstruct voting

Separately, the United Arab List (Ra'am) filed a formal complaint with the Central Elections Committee, alleging a systematic campaign to obstruct voting for the party.

The party said the alleged interference included the arrest of several campaign activists, the disappearance of its ballot papers and the deliberate destruction of voting slips in several Arab communities.

According to Ra'am, Israeli police arrested several prominent party activists in the Negev early on Tuesday, including Sayyaf Abu Riyash from Rahat, Hussein Masoudin from Shaqib al-Salam and Ibrahim al-Quraibi from the village of al-Sirr, along with others.

The party said the arrests had taken place without any clear justification.

Ra'am also reported widespread shortages of its Arabic-language ballot papers, marked with the letters "ع م", in several towns, including Nazareth and Shefa-Amr.

It said torn ballot papers had also been discovered, raising suspicions that they had been deliberately damaged.

The party urged supporters to check that their ballot papers were available and undamaged, and to demand replacements immediately if they found any missing or defective slips.

Ra'am accused Israel's right wing of seeking to weaken its electoral strength and prevent it from securing eight seats in the Knesset, which it said could obstruct the formation of an alternative government led by the opposition's "change camp".

"Your vote is your power, so do not give it up," the party told supporters.

Meanwhile, the Joint List issued video messages explaining that voters might encounter two versions of its ballot papers at some polling stations.

One version carries text in both Arabic and Hebrew, while the other is printed in Hebrew only.

The party stressed that both versions were valid and could be used to vote.

It urged supporters to ensure that their ballot papers were free of markings or damage and matched the officially approved versions.

The Joint List also called on Palestinian citizens to turn out in large numbers, presenting the election as an opportunity to defeat the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.