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Monday, October 26, 2026
Winter’s People of Israel party alleges cyberattack targeting candidates on eve of election
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party says several of its candidates and senior campaign officials have been blocked from using WhatsApp following what it describes as a coordinated cyberattack targeting their personal phone numbers.
The party claims that the attack, allegedly carried out using foreign phone numbers, is part of a broader campaign against it in recent days, aimed at “disrupting the party headquarters’ operations on election day.”
“The People of Israel party views this with the utmost seriousness, and it goes without saying that these are criminal offenses,” the party says, adding that it has contacted the relevant authorities.
It says campaign operations have returned to normal thanks to advance preparations, including the purchase of replacement phones, and that there has been no disruption to its preparations for tomorrow’s vote.
The allegations come amid an intense pressure campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, which have urged Winter to withdraw from the race over fears that his party will fail to cross the electoral threshold, wasting right-wing votes and potentially costing Netanyahu’s bloc a majority.
The Times of Israel Community.