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By Bernard Moerdler,
Qatar has categorically denied interfering in Israel's election or funding activities intended to influence its outcome. Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari accused Israeli politicians and media figures of conducting a disinformation campaign to draw Qatar into Israel's domestic political disputes.
Al-Ansari called the accusations "ridiculous and dangerous," pointing to successive allegations that Qatar had bought influence with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli left and Arab voters. "If these claims were to be believed, Qatar would apparently own all of Israel," he said.
He said Qatar would continue its mediation and humanitarian work, and called on Israel's next government to respect Palestinian national rights, including an independent state along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Central Elections Committee has also clarified that Tuesday's election was conducted lawfully and that, to the best of its knowledge, there is no basis for claims of systematic violations of election integrity. Acting director-general Dean Livne said the classified information presented to chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg raised suspicions requiring further investigation to establish whether supporting evidence exists.
Meanwhile, i24NEWS journalist Avishai Grinzaig reported that the funding inquiry currently concerns hundreds of thousands of shekels transferred from a Qatari source to a network associated with the Joint List. He said investigators are tracing where the money went and examining whether it formed part of a broader Qatari effort to influence the election. That broader suspicion had not been corroborated at the time of his report, he said.
Ra'am has welcomed the investigation into suspected foreign interference, denied any connection to the affair and pledged full cooperation with law enforcement.
Topics: Israeli Politics
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.