Jerusalem:Israel's Supreme Court has rejected a petition seeking to ban firearms at polling stations during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The petition was filed by the Arab rights group Adalah in conjunction with the Joint List.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, Adalah stated that the court dismissed the petition on Sunday evening. This legal challenge was in response to plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party to deploy approximately 2,000 observers to polling stations in areas with significant Arab populations.

Adalah expressed concerns that the presence of armed observers could intimidate Arab voters and potentially lead to violent confrontations. They cited past incidents of voter intimidation and warned against the risks posed by untrained civilians carrying weapons at polling locations, particularly amid ongoing racial tensions.

The court ruling deferred to the police's professional judgment, as the state argued there was no concrete threat necessitating a firearms ban. The state asserted that there were no plans to disrupt voting or threaten voters, and the court accepted this position, emphasizing the broad discretion police have concerning security and public order.

Adalah criticized the decision, arguing that the state and the Central Elections Committee overlooked their primary concern about the intimidation of Arab voters by armed right-wing activists. The group noted that the decision to allow firearms was based on a security assessment made before recent election-day plans were announced by Likud and Religious Zionism.

As the elections approach, the outcome remains uncertain, with neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the Jewish opposition parties projected to secure a majority in the Knesset. This situation could lead to a unity government, another election, or the potential for alliances with Arab parties, despite both major blocs ruling out such coalitions.