Qatar on Thursday rejected accusations that it interfered in Israeli elections to influence the results, calling them “dangerous”. Israel’s Central Elections Committee called on the Shin Bet chief to investigate allegations of foreign interference, as the final results remain pending. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr. Majed Al Ansari dismissed the allegations on Thursday, labeling them as “ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure”. Al Ansari accused certain Israeli political figures and media outlets of conducting a coordinated disinformation campaign to drag Qatar into Israel’s domestic political disputes.
Al Ansari stated that “Qatar should not be used as a scapegoat for the political failures of certain Israeli politicians”
He noted that successive fabrications have absurdly accused Doha of buying off Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli political left, and now Arab-Israeli voters. Al Ansari remarked, “If these claims were to be believed, Qatar would apparently own all of Israel.
The allegations surfaced immediately following Israel’s general elections on Tuesday.
Unprecedented Arab Voter Turnout: Partial election counts revealed a historic surge in voter turnout among Arab Israelis, positioning Arab-led parties (such as the Joint List and Ra’am) to win a projected 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset
The Political Threat: This surge severely threatened the governing majority of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, which appeared poised to fall short of the required 61-seat majority
The Claims: In response, Netanyahu’s Likud party and right-wing figures—including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Netanyahu’s son, Yair—accused Qatar and Turkey of funneling massive covert funds to Arab organizations to artificially mobilize voters and “steal” the election
Backlash Over “Election Theft” Rhetoric: Opposition figures, including Netanyahu’s main challenger Gadi Eisenkot and Democrats chairman Yair Golan, strongly criticized Netanyahu’s camp. They accused him of using unproven foreign interference claims as a “racist blood libel” and an ugly campaign to delegitimize the legal votes of Arab citizens and undermine democratic results
