Netanyahu claims scandals plaguing PMO manufactured to harm leadership, war effort

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the Israel media of opening a “front” against him alongside Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed groups, alleging that those coming after him during a series of scandals rocking his office are trying to weaken the nation during war.

“Even as I manage the war and battle international attacks from various directions, now we are dealing even more so with another front, the media’s fake news,” he says in a pre-recorded message, his second in hours.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu’s aides have faced accusations ranging from mishandling and leaking classified documents to the press to editing meeting transcripts to blackmailing a senior military officer. He says the allegations add up to “a wild and unrestrained attack.”

Netanyahu says that since the beginning of the war, there has been “a flood of leaks from the national security cabinet, from the war cabinet at the time, and a continuous tsunami of leaks from the negotiating team. These leaks provide vital information to Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, information that endangers the country, endangers our fighters, and endangers the recovery of our hostages.”

The prime minister laments that no investigations have been initiated into those leaks, despite his requests.

“Why? Because the goal is not to protect the security of the state,” he alleges. “The goal is to promote an agenda of weakness and concessions, during the war.”

He says that the string of scandals in recent weeks are “an organized hunting expedition designed to harm the country’s leadership and weaken us in the midst of a war,” he claims.

“It will not deter me,” Netanyahu promises, adding that he is “more determined than ever to make the right decisions for the benefit of Israel’s security, and I am more determined than ever to lead us to absolute victory.”