Netanyahu warns once again of Arab voters ‘racing to the ballots,’ accuses Ra’am operatives of ‘trying to steal the election from us’

Dusting off a controversial playbook from previous elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Arab voters in the south are “racing to the ballots.”

In a video to Likud voters, Netanyahu claims that “they are trying to steal the election from us,” referring to three Ra’am operatives who were arrested on suspicion of bribing voters.

“It’s serious,” he says. “It’s criminal. They will reach every single person. You have been warned.”

He warns that Arab voter rates in the Negev are far higher than those of Jews, without explaining where he got those statistics from. “You must go out and vote,” he urges.

“You also must race to the ballot,” he says.

“No beach, no barbecue, everyone goes out to vote Likud.”

“What hangs in the balance is the future of our Jewish state,” he says, warning that a victory by opposition Zionist and Arab parties “will bring an end to the Jewish state as we know it.”

Netanyahu has sent out multiple social media posts in the past hour, warning of what he says is high turnout on the left and among Arab voters and low turnout on the right.