Netanyahu to Sue Haaretz Over Report on Warning Before Hamas Attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz and the paper’s reporter Shlomi Eldar. The move follows the publication of a report that has added to the political pressure on him ahead of the October 27 election.
According to The Guardian, Haaretz wrote on Tuesday that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu in a 45-minute phone call about 10 days before Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel.
Netanyahu has completely denied the claim, saying that no such conversation ever took place between him and the UAE president. The Israeli prime minister’s office also described the report as “fabricated” and said its publication was driven by political motives linked to the election.
Haaretz, in response, said it stands by the contents of its report. The publication of the report has sparked a fresh political controversy at a time when Netanyahu’s opponents are calling for his resignation.
Haaretz is one of Israel’s best-known Hebrew-language newspapers, and its critical reporting has often drawn wide attention in the country’s domestic political disputes.
