PM says he is suing former defense minister Ya’alon for ‘despicable lie’ about supposed ties to Qatar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that he is suing his former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon for comments in which he suggested that the premier had received money from Qatar, amid an investigation into alleged ties between Doha and several officials working in the Prime Minister’s Office.

In an interview with Kan radio, Ya’alon suggested that there was “unproven intelligence information” from Emirati intelligence documents showing “that the prime minister also received $15 million in 2012, and in 2018 received $50 million from Qatar.”

Netanyahu, in a video posted to social media, accuses Ya’alon of spreading “a despicable lie” and warns that he has “decided not to be silent any longer.”

He claims that Ya’alon’s comments are part of a wider “campaign of threats of extortion” against himself and his family.” He says that it won’t stop him “from continuing to make the right decisions for the security of our country.”

“I’ll tell you this — I didn’t receive anything from Qatar, but I will receive from Bogie,” he says, referring to Ya’alon by his popular nickname. “This is just the beginning.”

Earlier today, a sweeping gag order was imposed on the high-profile probe investigating the alleged ties between PMO staff and Qatar.