Netanyahu Aide Sues Israel Hayom Newspaper for Defamation

Jonathan Urich, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking 260,000 shekels against the newspaper Israel Hayom, reporter Bini Ashkenazi, and editor Omer Lachmanovitch. The lawsuit stems from a report published in August that alleged Urich transferred classified information to Qatar, citing a "security source."

Urich vehemently denies the allegations, stating in his lawsuit that the report is "an absolute lie" and baseless. He previously told Israel Hayom at the time of the original publication, "This is an absolute lie, which is not by chance published by political rivals in the midst of an election campaign. I have never attended a classified discussion and I have never provided any information, not even classified, to anyone in the world."

The lawsuit asserts that Urich "never transferred classified information or information originating from security discussions to Qatar, nor was he involved in any such activity." Urich is seeking 260,000 shekels in damages from the court.

In addition to financial compensation, Urich is requesting that Israel Hayom remove the offending article from its website and publish a correction and apology. No defense has yet been filed by the newspaper, and the claims in the lawsuit have not been adjudicated by the court.