Likud officials said Wednesday, according to Channel 14, that the source of a recent Haaretz article critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is former Palestinian official Muhammad Dahlan, whom they labeled a terrorist.
On Wednesday evening, Channel 14 reported that unnamed Likud party sources claimed former Palestinian official Muhammad Dahlan was the source for a recent Haaretz article critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The sources referred to Dahlan as a terrorist. The allegation has not been independently verified.
The identification marks the latest escalation in a political battle that began earlier Wednesday evening. At 19:14 Jerusalem, Likud issued a formal statement demanding a criminal investigation into Haaretz, journalist Shlomi Eldar, opposition leader Yair Golan, and the Democrats party, alleging a foreign election interference scheme orchestrated by Dahlan. As The Zioneer reported at the time, Likud claimed Dahlan, based in the UAE, stood behind a false Haaretz report aimed at toppling the right-wing government. In subsequent statements, Likud expanded its list of alleged co-conspirators to include Ruth Yuval and repeated its accusation that Eldar received payment from a left-wing NGO linked to Golan. The party also questioned a secret visit by Golan and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to the UAE two months ago.
Dahlan, a former Fatah leader who has lived in exile in the UAE, has a long history of involvement in Palestinian politics and has been the subject of previous Israeli accusations. The Haaretz article at the center of the controversy, whose precise contents Likud has not detailed publicly, is the subject of the party's accusations of false reporting and foreign interference.
The specific claim that Dahlan served as the article's source remains unverified. No independent confirmation has emerged regarding Likud's allegations of payments to Eldar or the purported UAE visit. Likud has not provided evidence for its claims, and Haaretz has not publicly responded to the accusations.
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