Retired General Yisrael Ziv Wins Defamation Lawsuit Over Oct. 7 Conspiracy Claims

Retired Major General Yisrael Ziv, former commander of the Gaza Division and head of the Operations Directorate, has won a significant defamation lawsuit against activist and lawyer Ido Shifoni. The Kfar Saba Magistrate's Court ordered Shifoni to pay Ziv a total of 168,000 shekels in damages.

Shifoni had spread a conspiracy theory on social media alleging that Ziv, along with retired Major Generals Yair Golan and Noam Tibon, had prior knowledge of the October 7th Hamas attacks. Shifoni claimed they only went to the Gaza vicinity for public relations purposes with the intention of toppling the government.

Judge Ronen Peleg dismissed all of Shifoni's defense arguments, ruling that the publication was not made in good faith and did not raise a legitimate question. Instead, the court found the posts were intended to humiliate Ziv and portray him as a traitor to the country. The judge emphasized that Ziv went to the Gaza envelope on the morning of the attack independently and faced real personal risk.

In his ruling, Judge Peleg stated, "One can only regret that in later days, heroic actions are stained by publications like the one the defendant committed." Shifoni was ordered to pay 140,000 shekels in compensation, plus an additional 28,000 shekels for legal expenses and court fees. He also received a 10,000 shekel fine for his procedural conduct, payable to the state treasury.

Furthermore, Shifoni must remove the defamatory publications within 14 days and post a summary of the court's findings on his Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages for 30 consecutive days.