Opposition leader Yair Golan filed a defamation lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu, demanding NIS 2.55 million in damages over her suggestion that he had advance knowledge of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, according to The Zioneer. Golan's suit argues that Netanyahu's public questioning of how he reached the south so quickly on the morning of the massacre constitutes a libelous conspiracy theory.
Opposition leader Yair Golan filed a defamation lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu on Thursday, seeking NIS 2.55 million in damages, a figure that updates the $843,000 sum initially reported. The suit, first detailed by The Zioneer on Thursday at 15:20 Jerusalem time, now carries a specific NIS amount, reflecting the latest legal filing.
The lawsuit originates from Sara Netanyahu's public questioning of how Golan reached the Gaza border area so swiftly on the morning of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, implying he had advance knowledge. The Times of Israel first reported the filing on Thursday morning (11:50 Jerusalem), citing a demand of $843,000. The Zioneer later confirmed the suit and its currency conversion. Golan's legal team argues that Netanyahu's remarks constitute a libelous conspiracy theory, citing timelines, rescue footage, and testimonies from that morning as potential evidence.
The legal action adds a new dimension to the bitter political battle over responsibility for the October 7 disaster. As The Zioneer has extensively reported, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced his own scrutiny over his testimony to the state comptroller, in which he claimed security officials failed to wake him and downplayed the threat. The defamation suit against the Prime Minister's wife signals an intensification of the personal and legal fight between Netanyahu and his political rivals.
Sara Netanyahu has not yet issued a public response to the updated NIS 2.55 million figure. The court has not scheduled a hearing. The lawsuit's outcome remains uncertain, but it marks the first defamation case arising from a family member of the Prime Minister being targeted over October 7 commentary.
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