Sara Netanyahu Drops Lawsuit Against News Outlets, Continues Case Against Telegram Channel

Sara Netanyahu has agreed to drop her NIS 500,000 defamation lawsuit against Channel 12, Keshet 12, Kan 11, and journalist Omri Maniv. The lawsuit stemmed from publications alleging she provided advance information about the planned assassination of Hezbollah leader. The agreement is conditional on the media outlets publishing the court's ruling in the same manner as the original reports. The legal proceedings will now continue solely against Udi Mizrahi, manager of the "Hadashot BeZman" Telegram channel.

Mizrahi alleged the information reached him via the grandson of Vered Gross, a friend of Sara Netanyahu, who acted as an intermediary. During the hearing, Mizrahi described the alleged information chain: "Every time we wanted information, we would ask the grandson, and he would ask the grandmother, and she would ask Netanyahu." Sara Netanyahu, present in the courtroom, reportedly chuckled at this.

Netanyahu has vehemently denied these claims. In a document disclosure, she confirmed knowing Gross and being in contact, but stated their meetings and conversations were infrequent.

Mizrahi attempted to present the basis for his claims and the credibility of his source.

During the hearing, Judge Wenschel attempted to broker a settlement between the parties. After addressing Netanyahu's attorney, Uriel Chor Nizri, and the media representatives, he remarked, "The general context raises questions of fairness, but you can end the case by agreement." The parties accepted the proposal, agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit against the four defendants, contingent on the publication of the ruling. However, the dispute with Mizrahi remains unresolved, and the agreement does not determine whether the information was indeed transferred from Netanyahu's circle.