Opposer sues Sara Netanyahu for insinuating he knew of October 7

O left Party leader Democrats brought proceedings for defamation and incitement to violence, condemning “theories of conspiracy engendered by malicious minds”, with the aim of damaging their dignity and reputation, according to judicial documents cited today by the agency France-Presse (AFP), less than two months from the legislative elections in Israel.

In response to Sara Netanyahu's statements, Golan demands compensation of 2.5 million shekels (about 700,000 euros), according to the legal documents.

At the end of August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, during an interview with a television channel close to the government, suggested that the former general and current opposing politician was aware of the attacks carried out by Hamas in southern Israel, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

Yair Golan was already “dressed and ready” at dawn on October 7, 2023, “while others knew nothing, including the Prime Minister,” said Sara Netanyahu in the interview, although without explicitly accusing him of complicity.

“After all, who is the Prime Minister to know that a war is about to begin? Why give him knowledge?” asked sarcastically.

These statements motivated a series of reactions, when government chief Benjamin Netanyahu himself faces accusations about the government’s actions before, during and after Hamas’ attacks, which held about 1,200 dead and 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Several opponents resigned this week after the publication of an article in the Haaretz newspaper describing Netanyahu as being alerted by the United Arab Emirates to an imminent attack by Hamas ten days before October 7.

In response, the Israeli leader claimed that he was a victim of slander and that he will sue the diary, the journalist who signed the news and “other entities”, who did not identify it.

Yair Golan received praise for his actions that morning, in which he reported having driven his car, on his own initiative and with his personal weapon, around 8:00 a.m., to the New Music Festival, where the Palestinian militias had started an attack an hour and a half earlier.

This case illustrates the aggressiveness involved in the campaign for Israeli parliamentary elections on 27 October in which Netanyahu plays the continuity of his coalition government with the far right and its own political future in a country deeply divided and traumatized by the worst massacre ever in Israel.

According to the Israeli press, before announcing the defamation suit against Sara Netanyahu, Yair Golan sent him a letter demanding that he correct his statements and apologize, in addition to donating a substantial sum to the survivors of the New Festival.

The Prime Minister's wife not only did not accept this demand, she threatened to sue her husband's political opponent.

The general election polls, in which October 7th is a central theme, give the opposition party Yashar, led by former Chief of Armed Forces Gadi Eisenkot, slightly ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud.

However, neither the two parties nor the pro-government nor opposition bloc reach a majority which will allow control of the 120 seats of the Knesset (Parliament).

The Democrats, from Yair Golan, have appeared in fourth place in opinion studies, electing about a dozen deputies, behind Yashar and Likud, as well as the Together, the opposition alliance of former Prime Ministers Naphtali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

Only then do the parties that have been close to Netanyahu's Likud, including the extreme right and ultra-orthodox forces.

In response to the attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, which caused more than 73,000 deaths, according to local authorities controlled by Hamas, a humanitarian disaster, the destruction of almost all infrastructure in the territory and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Palestinian enclave has been under ceasefire since October last year, but both sides accuse each other of successive violations of the truce and have not yet agreed on the next stages of the peace process.