CBNNews.com - UMM AL-FAHM, Israel - Police escorted MK (member of Knesset) Arieh Eldad (Ichud Leumi/National Union) from the polling station in the Arab Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm out of concerns for his safety.

The Central Elections Committee appointed Eldad to replace far-right activist Baruch Marzel after Northern District Police Chief Major General Shimon Koren banned Marzel from entering the city.

Elad's spokeswoman, Na'ama Cohen, said he coordinated an hour-long mid-morning visit with police, who police helped him perform his work as chairman of polling place number 12.

Nonetheless, residents pelted the police car transporting Elad with stones, while rioters clashed with police.

"We proved to the Arab public that Umm el-Fahm is also part of the land of Israel," Eldad said afterward. "There was no surrender to the Arabs," he said.

Koren's decision to ban Marzel from overseeing the voting in Umm al-Fahm followed concrete warning of riots "of a serious threat to public safety."

On Monday, the city's residence, reinforced by others from surrounding communities, blocked the entrances to the city to protest the Central Election Committee's decision to appoint Marzel to this polling place.

Sources: Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, israel national news