Israel election 2022: Jewish extremists spray noxious liquid on polling booths to desist people from voting

Residents of Ramat Beit Shemesh in Israel found it difficult to cast their vote as the polling stations were sprayed with noxious liquid.

The local media reported that the Jewish extremists were responsible for this incident as they want to discourage people from voting in the general elections on Tuesday.

It is believed that these ultra-orthodox extremists deliberately poured the pungent substance between Monday night and Tuesday in a bid to oppose the elections as they do not recognise Israel as a legitimate state. They also didn’t want other people to participate in the electoral process. Though the police have yet to confirm their role in this incident.

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The polling officers noticed the foul smell upon arriving at the classrooms, which are being used as polling stations.

"When the secretaries came in the morning to open the four polling stations at the school in Beit Shemesh, there was a terrible smell in the rooms," Orly Ades, head of theCentral Election Committee, toldYnet.

"But these are the kind of really small things that we know how to overcome. We found replacement trailers and immediately transferred the polling stations there. Let's hope there will be no more unusual events."

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The polling booths were later shifted to the trailers on the school campus after the place was cleaned, the media outlet reported.

Israeli police have launched an investigation into the incident and looking into reports of whether the ultra-orthodox were responsible for it.

Meanwhile, voting percentageas of 10 am (local time) was at 15.9 per cent which is the highest at the time, the Central Election Committee announced.

In the previous elections, only 14.8 per cent of voter turnout was recorded as of 10 am.

(With inputs from agencies)

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