Netanyahu files defamation lawsuit against Democrats party chief
Yair Golan had sent a message to supporters of the center-left opposition party accusing the PM of 'selling Israel's security for money' in Qatargate scandal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has filed a defamation suit against Yair Golan, leader of opposition party The Democrats, over messages he sent to supporters accusing the premier of peddling the country’s security for money in the so-called Qatargate scandal.
According to a report Thursday on the Ynet news site, Netanyahu filed the suit against Golan on Tuesday, charging that the messages not only “contain false and ugly content” and “fake news, unbridled incitement, and slander,” but also attempts to use such messaging to solicit donations.
Netanyahu is reportedly demanding financial compensation of NIS 320,000 ($86,400) and an order instructing Golan to “refrain from spreading defamation.”
In a lengthy statement to the press Thursday evening, Golan said he was “happy for the opportunity” to put Netanyahu “on the witness stand and question him about the Qatari money that washed into his office.”
Golan listed a number of questions he plans on asking the premier should his legal team have the opportunity to question him as part of the suit.
These include why Netanyahu approached Qatar in 2018 “with a request to fund Hamas, in complete contradiction to the position of the defense establishment,” and why he continued “to demand the transfer of the suitcases of dollars to Hamas even after being warned that this was direct funding for terrorism.”
“Why did you prevent the elimination of [Yahya] Sinwar at least six times and is this related to your or your associates’ ties with Qatar?” Golan continued.
In addition, Golan questioned why Netanyahu allowed Qatar to act as a mediator in hostage release talks at the expense of Egypt, and why he did not fire aide Jonatan Urich, a key suspect in the ongoing Qatargate probe, after his alleged role in the scandal came to light.
Urich and another aide to Netanyahu, Eli Feldstein, are suspected of taking money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, in order to boost the Gulf state’s image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, all while in the prime minister’s employ. Police suspect the two of having contact with a foreign agent, money laundering, bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
“And finally, the question that looms over everything: Did you, or any of your family members, receive, directly or indirectly, money, favors, or financing from the country that financed the [October 7] massacre?” Golan said. “Netanyahu, the court is the place to reveal the truth. We are ready. The public is ready.”
Netanyahu had on Wednesday accused the opposition of hypocrisy for their denunciation of his aides’ alleged paid PR work for Qatar, which is widely condemned in Israel for its sponsorship of Hamas.
Qatar is not designated as an enemy state by Israel and has been a key mediator, along with Egypt and the US, in hostage-ceasefire negotiations. It also sent vast amounts of money, including hundreds of millions of dollars in cash delivered with the support of Netanyahu, into Gaza in recent years — funds that IDF and Shin Bet probes have said helped finance Hamas’s war machine and the terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion and slaughter in southern Israel.
Netanyahu has stated publicly in the past that Qatar funds Hamas and decried its hosting of the terror group’s leaders. Israel also banned the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera news outlet last year as a threat to national security.
When the allegations against Feldstein were reported by Channel 12 news earlier this year, Golan called on the attorney general and head of the Shin Bet to investigate the prime minister’s aides.
“There is no choice but to say the words explicitly: There is a suspicion of treason in the Prime Minister’s Office that must be investigated. I repeat the harsh words: This is a suspicion of a crime of treason,” Golan said.