Netanyahu Sues Media Outlets for $700,000 Over Hamas Attack Warning Reports

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking 2.6 million shekels (approximately $700,000) against several Israeli media outlets and journalists. The suit stems from reports alleging that Netanyahu received advance warnings about the October 7th Hamas attack from the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, and the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel.

The lawsuit, filed in the Jerusalem District Court, names Haaretz newspaper and its journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruti Yuval-Ouriel Mesegav, the Yedioth Ahronoth Group, Ynet, and journalist Nadav Eyal, Channel 12 and journalist Barak Ravid, and Attila Somfalvi. According to the lawsuit, the publications reported on two specific warnings that Netanyahu claims he never received.

The first alleged warning, published by Haaretz on September 8th, stated that the UAE President had spoken with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the Hamas attack, warning him of a major operation planned by the organization. The report claimed Netanyahu did not relay this information to security officials. The second report alleged that the head of Egyptian intelligence personally warned Netanyahu of an unusual attack from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu denies both reports, asserting in his lawsuit that no conversation or meeting took place between him and either the UAE President or the head of Egyptian intelligence during September 2023 up to the October 7th attack. The suit also claims that no documentation of these alleged conversations exists in the Prime Minister's Office's official records. Netanyahu argues that the media outlets and journalists knowingly published false information that damaged his reputation.

Furthermore, the lawsuit contends that the timing of these publications, during an election period, was intended to harm him and influence the election results. Netanyahu is requesting the court order the defendants to pay him 2.6 million shekels in damages. These claims have been presented in the lawsuit and have not yet been decided by the court.