Israel’s anti-Qatar campaign bleeds into elections

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman rejects ‘disinformation campaign’ amid allegations by some Israeli politicians of voting interference.

Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, criticised the 'disinformation campaign' against Qatar [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

As Israel awaits the final results of its highly contested elections , some political figures have sought to drag Qatar into the fray with claims of voting interference – an accusation Doha rejects.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and media outlets associated with it have, without evidence, accused Qatar of sending money to Arab parties in Israel for get-out-the-vote drives.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Thursday categorically denied the allegations of interference or funding of any activities aimed at influencing the election results.

“We reject the accusations made by certain Israeli politicians and their contacts in the media, who have launched yet another disinformation campaign aiming to drag Qatar into Israeli political disputes following this week’s elections,” Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X.

The unsubstantiated Israeli claims, which the spokesperson described as “ridiculous and dangerous in equal measure”, are the latest in a long-running campaign against Qatar.

Netanyahu has previously boasted about attacking Qatar in September 2025 during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza while Israeli influence experts and political advisers also worked on a secret campaign targeting Qatar in the weeks after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.

“[Some Israeli politicians] accuse Qatar of buying off Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli political left and now, in this latest campaign, the Arab vote. If these claims were to be believed, Qatar would apparently own all of Israel,” al-Ansari said.

Partial results indicated that Netanyahu’s bloc would not secure a majority in the Knesset in Tuesday’s parliamentary elections. Those results showed the two Arab lists securing a record number of seats in the new parliament, but the main parties have rejected the idea of partnering with them.

Despite the latest claims, Dean Livine, the acting director for Israel’s Central Elections Committee, has rejected allegations of foreign interference in the elections. “The Knesset elections were conducted lawfully. The integrity of the elections at polling stations was rigorously safeguarded,” he wrote in a letter to an MP and fellow committee member.

“The repeated invocation of Qatar in Israeli electoral rhetoric reveals an excessive obsession with our country among certain Israeli political and media figures,” al-Ansari said, adding that Qatar should “not be used as a scapegoat for the political failures of certain Israeli politicians”.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said some Israeli politicians, instead of shifting attention onto Qatar, “would be better off focusing on their own voters, improving people’s everyday lives, and undoing the damage they’ve created in the region”.

He reiterated that Qatar has “no involvement” in Israel’s political or electoral competition.

“These are internal Israeli matters in which we do not interfere, and we will not accept any attempt to draw Qatar into its domestic political disputes.”

Qatar is a key mediator in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and played a central role in talks to halt Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Doha is also leading mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran to end the United States-Israel war on Iran.

Al-Ansari said the latest accusations would not distract Doha from its “important role as a mediator, our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts, our support for the Palestinian people, or our commitment to a just and comprehensive peace and regional stability.”

卡塔尔外交部发言人驳斥了部分以色列政客指控卡塔尔干预选举的“虚假信息宣传”。

卡塔尔外交部发言人马吉德·安萨里批评了针对卡塔尔的“虚假信息宣传活动”。[截图/半岛电视台]

在以色列等待备受争议的选举最终结果之际，一些政治人物试图将卡塔尔拖入这场纷争，声称卡塔尔干预选举——多哈方面否认了这一指控。

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡的利库德集团及其相关媒体在没有证据的情况下指责卡塔尔向以色列的阿拉伯政党提供资金，用于开展拉票活动。

卡塔尔外交部发言人周四断然否认了有关干预或资助任何旨在影响选举结果的活动的指控。

“我们驳斥某些以色列政客及其媒体联系人提出的指控，他们发动了又一场虚假信息宣传活动，旨在将卡塔尔拖入以色列本周选举后的政治争端中，”马吉德·安萨里在 X 网站上发帖称。

以色列发言人称，这些未经证实的以色列指控“既荒谬又危险”，这是以色列长期以来针对卡塔尔的攻击行动中的最新一起。

内塔尼亚胡此前曾吹嘘要在 2025 年 9 月以色列对加沙发动种族灭绝战争期间攻击卡塔尔，而以色列的影响力专家和政治顾问也在哈马斯领导的 2023 年 10 月 7 日对以色列南部发动袭击后的几周内秘密策划了一场针对卡塔尔的行动。

“（一些以色列政客）指责卡塔尔收买了本雅明·内塔尼亚胡、以色列左翼政党，现在又在这次竞选中收买了阿拉伯选民。如果这些说法属实，卡塔尔显然就拥有了整个以色列，”安萨里说道。

初步结果显示，内塔尼亚胡的联盟在周二的议会选举中未能赢得多数席位。结果显示，两个阿拉伯政党联盟在新议会中获得了创纪录的席位，但主要政党拒绝与他们结盟。

尽管出现了最新的说法，以色列中央选举委员会代理主任迪恩·利文仍驳斥了外国干预选举的指控。他在致一位议员兼委员会成员的信中写道：“议会选举是依法进行的。投票站的选举公正性得到了严格保障。”

“以色列选举言论中反复提及卡塔尔，表明某些以色列政治和媒体人士对我们国家过度迷恋，”安萨里说，并补充说，卡塔尔“不应被用作某些以色列政客政治失败的替罪羊”。

外交部发言人表示，一些以色列政客与其将注意力转移到卡塔尔，“不如将注意力集中在自己的选民身上，改善人民的日常生活，并消除他们在该地区造成的损害”。

他重申，卡塔尔“没有参与”以色列的政治或选举竞争。

“这些都是以色列的内部事务，我们不予干涉，我们也不会接受任何将卡塔尔卷入其国内政治争端的企图。”

卡塔尔是以色列和巴勒斯坦冲突的关键调解人，并在制止以色列对加沙发动种族灭绝战争的谈判中发挥了核心作用。

多哈还在华盛顿和德黑兰之间牵头进行调解，以结束美国和以色列对伊朗的战争。

安萨里表示，最新的指控不会分散多哈的注意力，使其偏离“作为调解人的重要作用、我们的外交和人道主义努力、我们对巴勒斯坦人民的支持，以及我们对公正和全面和平与地区稳定的承诺”。