Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu filed a NIS 2.6 million defamation lawsuit Monday at the Jerusalem District Court against a group of Israeli media organizations and journalists over reports concerning alleged warnings he received before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
The defendants include Ynet, Yedioth Ahronoth, Channel 12 and Haaretz, as well as journalists Nadav Eyal, Shlomi Eldar, Ruti Yuval, Uri Misgav, Barak Ravid and Attila Somfalvi, according to the lawsuit and reports on the filing.
The lawsuit focuses on recent reports alleging that Netanyahu received advance warnings from Arab leaders in the days before the Hamas assault, including claims concerning UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
Netanyahu: “A Complete Fabrication”
In the lawsuit, Netanyahu categorically rejects the reports and describes them as a “complete fabrication” and a malicious falsehood intended to seriously damage both his reputation and Israel's security.
The filing states that Netanyahu did not receive such a warning call either from the UAE president or from the Egyptian intelligence chief. It further accuses the defendants of publishing claims that they knew to be false and of violating journalistic ethics.
Netanyahu is seeking NIS 2.6 million in damages.
Lawsuit Comes Amid Election Campaign
The prime minister's legal action comes during the campaign ahead of Israel's upcoming elections.
The lawsuit explicitly links the publications to the election campaign, arguing that the decision to publish the allegations at this time was intended to influence voters and the outcome of the election.
Netanyahu's filing characterizes the publications as an attempt to influence the democratic process through what it describes as false allegations.
The defendants, however, have stood behind their reporting.
UAE Meeting Adds New Dimension to Dispute
The legal battle comes shortly after reports about Netanyahu's recent meeting in Abu Dhabi with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.
According to an Associated Press report cited by Ynet, Netanyahu asked bin Zayed during their meeting to publicly deny that he had warned the Israeli prime minister about a planned Hamas attack before October 7. The UAE confirmed that the meeting took place but, according to the report, did not publicly deny that such a warning had been given.
Netanyahu has previously denied that such a conversation took place. He said that his office, the National Security Council and the Military Secretariat had checked his records and found no evidence of a conversation with bin Zayed concerning an impending Hamas attack.
Reports of Egyptian Warnings Also Disputed
The lawsuit also rejects reports concerning alleged warnings from Egypt.
Recent international and Israeli reports have described contacts between Egyptian officials and Israel before October 7. A separate report cited by Ynet said that senior Egyptian intelligence official Abbas Kamel warned Netanyahu days before the attack about the possibility of a major assault from Gaza.
At the same time, the precise content of the alleged warnings, who received them, and how they were handled remain matters of dispute.
Central Question: What Was Known Before October 7?
The legal dispute is part of a broader and increasingly intense debate over what Israeli political and security leaders knew before the October 7 attack and how they responded to warnings and intelligence.
Previous reporting has documented a number of warnings issued by Israeli security officials before the attack, although the nature and specificity of those warnings varied. For example, Ynet reported that then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned Netanyahu in July 2023 about a potential war, while noting that this was not a specific warning that Hamas was about to launch the October 7 assault.
The latest allegations concerning warnings from Arab governments raise a different question: whether foreign intelligence or political leaders conveyed specific information about Hamas's preparations directly to Netanyahu before the attack.
Media Outlets Stand Behind Their Reporting
The media organizations and journalists targeted by Netanyahu's lawsuit have maintained their reporting regarding the alleged warnings.
The dispute is now moving from the media arena to the courts, where the parties will be required to present evidence concerning the publications, their sources and the factual basis for the allegations.
The case could therefore become an important legal test over the publication of investigative reporting concerning classified security information, political accountability and alleged warnings preceding the October 7 attack.
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