Israel opposition figure sues Netanyahu's wife over Oct 7 conspiracy theory

An Israeli opposition politician said Thursday he had filed a libel lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife. He accused her of suggesting he had prior knowledge of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Why is Yair Golan suing Sara Netanyahu?

Yair Golan, who heads Israel's center-left Democrats party, filed the lawsuit after Sara Netanyahu claimed he knew in advance about Hamas's plans to attack southern Israel. The suit accuses her of defamation and incitement to violence, seeking damages and a public retraction of her statement.

The lawsuit comes as Israel's election campaign takes an acrimonious turn, in a country divided and traumatized by the worst massacre ever committed on its soil. In an interview with Israel's right-wing Channel 14 in late August, Sara Netanyahu lashed out at Golan, the former deputy military chief of staff.

She suggested Golan knew of Hamas's plans, claiming he was "already dressed and ready" at dawn that day, "while others knew nothing, including the prime minister." Her remarks sparked a flurry of responses, with many Israelis instead praising Golan for spontaneously joining efforts to push back the attack using his personal weapon.

What does Yair Golan's lawsuit say?

Golan said Thursday he had filed the lawsuit for defamation and incitement to violence. "These conspiracy theories... did not arise on their own but from the malicious mind of those seeking to shake off responsibility for the terrible disaster," the lawsuit reads.

Golan is seeking damages of 2.5 million shekels, about 822,000 dollars, and for Sara Netanyahu to retract her statement, according to the document.

How does this fit into Israel's election campaign?

The October 7, 2023 attack sits at the heart of Israel's election campaign, with Netanyahu himself facing accusations of prior knowledge. A report this week, denied by the prime minister, accused him of receiving a warning from the United Arab Emirates about Hamas's plans for an imminent large-scale attack.

The attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also dragged some 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of whom were already dead.

The massive Israeli offensive that followed has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed 73,670 people, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry operates under Hamas authority, and its figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.