Israeli police close polling station after Arabs riot over Likud election observer

Arabs rioted at a polling station after a Likud election observer was caught filming people. 

By World Israel News Staff

Arabs rioted at a polling station in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm after a Likud election observer was identified filming people at the station, Arutz7 reports.

Israeli police were forced to temporarily close the polling station for a hour, fearing there would be more incidents of violence, according to the report.

The Likud observer “was escorted out of the polling place by police officers, and afterward there was a larger gathering of citizens,” the police said in a statement.

“Out of concerns that there would be violence in the area, it was decided to close the polls until police finished dealing with the event,” police said.

Police also shuttered three polling places in Yarka, a Druze village in northern Israel, after reports of election fraud.

“A report was received of the suspicion of counterfeiting at three polling places in the village of Yarka. There is suspicion of an attempt to bring ballot envelopes into the polling areas,” police said.

“In accordance with an instruction from the regional election committee, the three polling places have been shut until the completion of the investigation.”

The Likud party also filed a complaint with the police about a polling incident in Hadera.

A week before the elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to push through a Security Cameras Law in order to install cameras in polling places. He cited fraud in the Arab sector as of particular concern.

The legislation, which was opposed by the head of the Central Elections Committee and the attorney general, as well as all the opposition parties, didn’t make it out of committee.