Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slams what he calls a “mass media conspiracy” against him as an attempt to remove him from power.
After arriving at his weekly faction meeting to cheers and singing of “Bibi Melech Yisrael” (Bibi is the king of Israel), the prime minister launches into a diatribe against the Israeli press for publishing “so-called” leaks of secret negotiations he held with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to apparently secure better coverage.
Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes arrives for investigation at the Lahav 433 police investigation unit in Lod on January 16, 2017. Ben Drori/Flash90)
“There is a fake investigation taking place against me on television every night,” he says. “They [the press] are trying to pressure the attorney general and the police into indicting me for no reason.”
Netanyahu described the efforts as a “march to decapitate” him.
“Well, I can tell the public something now,” he says, “that there has been no criminal wrongdoing.”
The “obsession” with the investigation is an attempt to hide the “huge successes” of his government, he says, citing low unemployment and a soft declaration from Sunday’s Paris peace conference.
“The public does not buy it. Many, many people support us and realize this disgraceful game and they are not falling for it,” he says. “I will continue to lead Likud and the state, with the help of God.”
— Raoul Wootliff
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 16, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
