PM breaks silence on Keyes, defends conduct of US envoy

In his first public statement to the allegations against his spokesperson David Keyes, Netanyahu defends the conduct of US Ambassador Ron Dermer, who is accused of failing to pass on warnings of Keyes’s alleged sexual misconduct to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“I’m sure Ambassador Dermer acted entirely properly and appropriately. The matter is currently being probed by the Civil Service Commission, and we will let the investigation take its course,” Netanyahu tells reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

Sitting next to Dermer at a briefing, Netanyahu did not directly address the allegations against Keyes.

Keyes, who is on an open-ended leave, did not accompany the prime minister to New York for the General Assembly.

— Raphael Ahren