Netanyahu Demands Investigation into Journalists Over 'Foreign Interference' Claims

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party are demanding a criminal investigation into journalists and media outlets following a report alleging that Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan was involved in disseminating false information. The report, published by the newspaper Haaretz, claimed that Netanyahu received a warning about Hamas's intentions approximately a week and a half before the October 7th attacks from the President of the United Arab Emirates.

Likud issued a statement asserting that the "real affair revealed in the last two days is blatant foreign interference in the elections in Israel." The party accused Dahlan, who resides in the UAE, of being behind the "false report" by Haaretz. Likud claims Dahlan, who heads a joint list with Hamas for Palestinian Authority elections, seeks to overthrow Netanyahu's right-wing government to gain control of the Gaza Strip. They allege he desires a weak left-wing government led by figures like Benny Gantz, Yair Golan, and Avigdor Lieberman, along with Arab parties, which would then withdraw from Gaza and hand it over to his control.

Furthermore, Likud alleged that journalist Shlomi Eldar, who published the report, received payment from a left-wing non-profit organization linked to Yair Golan's "The Democrats" party to spread the "false narrative." The party also questioned whether a secret visit by Yair Golan and Ronen Bar to the UAE two months prior was connected to the Haaretz publication.

Netanyahu and Likud have called for a criminal investigation into Shlomi Eldar, Ruth Yuval, Haaretz newspaper, Yair Golan, and The Democrats party, citing "suspicion of an attempt to disrupt elections with foreign elements."