Netanyahu to sue Haaretz for defamation against oldest newspaper Haaretz

A legal battle has erupted between Israel's oldest newspaper Haaretz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The whole matter has gained momentum. The Prime Minister has announced to file a defamation case. At the same time, he has also given his explanation by terming the allegations made by the newspaper as fabricated.

posted a statement on Netanyahu's X handle, saying, "The PM has instructed his lawyers to file a defamation case against the leftist newspaper Haaretz, Shlomi Elder and others. These people have created a false narrative against the PM, which never happened. Nor did any such incident ever happen. Contrary to these claims, there was no conversation between the Prime Minister and the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the beginning of September to October 7."

'no evidence found in the investigation'

הנדון: שקרים תוצרת "הארץ"

ראש הממשלה הנחה את עורכי דינו להגיש תביעת דיבה נגד עיתון השמאל ״הארץ״, שלומי אלדר וגורמים נוספים שהעלילו עלילה שקרית על ראש הממשלה שלא הייתה ולא נבראה.

בניגוד לנטען, מתחילת חודש ספטמבר ועד ה-7 באוקטובר לא התקיימה שום שיחה בין ראש הממשלה לנשיא איחוד…

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 9, 2026

All these conversations are recorded. Elder himself said in an interview on Channel 12 last night that the conversation he is claiming, in which he said that the Prime Minister was warned, took place in this way. A thorough examination of not only the call logs of the Prime Minister, but also the records of those who came to the Prime Minister's Office during that time shows that there is no entry for the Emirati representative to come to the Prime Minister's Office.

No chance: PM Office

It was further told, 'Documents produced by the security forces'; And without the recording, there is no possibility of entering the Prime Minister's Office. Elder also lied that Egypt had warned the Prime Minister about a possible attack. This claim was proved false at the beginning of the war. All this proves that this is a malicious fabrication that has been clearly concocted with political times in mind. It is part of the Left's election campaign. More such false stories may emerge."

The purpose of this fabricated story was to divert people's attention from what they already understand. Ronen Barr and Herzi Halevi had seen signs of this several hours before the attack began. If instead of a miscalculation, they would have instructed the IDF, the Shin Bet and the standby units to act before the attack, and if they had informed Prime Minister Netanyahu in a timely manner, that horrific massacre could have been prevented."

Benjamin Netanyahu sent a warning letter ahead of a libel suit against Haaretz and journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval over a report he received a warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed about a major Hamas operation before the October 7 attack.

Haaretz stands by its… pic.twitter.com/qG0WfJZNpL

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 9, 2026

What is the whole controversy?
The whole controversy is related to the bitter political and legal battle between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's oldest newspaper Hortez. The newspaper claimed in a report that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed called Netanyahu for 45 minutes at the end of September 2023, about 10 days before the October 7 attacks. He had specifically warned that Hamas was preparing for a major attack.