OMM Redaksiyası
Qatar on Thursday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that Doha is conducting a campaign to influence public opinion against Israel, saying the claim was intended to divert attention from Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“We categorically reject Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation, made in his address to the UN General Assembly, that the State of Qatar is conducting a campaign to influence public opinion against Israel,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a statement.
Al-Ansari described the continuing Israeli rhetoric against Qatar as an attempt to deflect attention from what he called atrocities committed by the Israeli government in the occupied Palestinian territories and their serious humanitarian consequences.
Qatar disputes claims over global opinion
The spokesman also rejected claims that growing criticism of Israel worldwide, particularly among younger people, was the result of organised influence campaigns.
“Reducing the growing shift in global public opinion, particularly among young people, to allegations of ‘influence campaigns’ is an insult to the awareness and judgment of a generation that is witnessing, in real time and before the entire world, what is taking place on the ground and forming its views accordingly,” al-Ansari said.
According to the statement, Qatar said Israeli leaders seeking to change the country’s international image should focus on government policies instead of blaming Doha or other external actors.
Call for policy change
“Attempts to hold Qatar, or anyone else, responsible for a global shift in public opinion shaped by what people themselves are witnessing are no longer persuasive,” al-Ansari said.
He called on Israel to change its policies, respect international law and take responsibility for its actions.
