Tel Aviv [Israel], August 31: The son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must pay damages to a woman for indirectly accusing her of having an affair with an opposition politician.
According to Israeli media reports, a court in Kfar Saba ordered Yair Netanyahu on Wednesday to pay the plaintiff the equivalent of around $34,000. The plaintiff had accused him of making several posts on Twitter, now known as X, shortly before the 2020 parliamentary elections, which suggested a sexual relationship between her and former defence minister Benny Gantz. Gantz was Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in the election.
Yair Netanyahu's tweets were "shocking, a prime example of the violent and shameful discourse on social media," the Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted the lead judge as saying.
The court did not accept Netanyahu's explanation that the content of the posts was harmless. Yair Netanyahu does not hold an official office, but he is considered an influential confidant of his father. He has had to appear in court several times in the past because of attacks he made on social networks. Most recently, he lost a defamation suit at the beginning of the year and had to pay the equivalent of around $17,000.
He caused a stir a few weeks ago with another post he shared, in which he called the country's military chief of staff, HerziHalevi, "the most failed and destructive chief of staff" in Israel's history.
Source: Qatar Tribune