Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuMiriam Alster/Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu participated in a question and answer session in the Knesset this evening (Monday).

MK Tamar Zandberg of Meretz asked the Prime Minister why he hadn't addressed the controversy surrounding the comments against the gay community made by Rabbi Yigal Levinstein.

"I'm not a professional internet commentator and neither do I work on MK Zandberg's schedule," Netanyahu retorted, "but the comments are unacceptable. The LGBT community is part of us. They are citizens like everyone else. Israel needs to be a home for all Jews."

The Prime Minister also addressed the matter of the investigation opened into alleged financial violations on his part. He dismissed the allegations, saying "there is nothing. There never was anything. There's no smoke or fire, only hot air."

Regarding the matter of the planned evacuation of the Samaria village of Amona Netanyahu said, "Amona is a matter of doing justice in an issue that's been going on for many years. Several proposals have come up, and the Defense Minister asked for a few days to examine the matter. All involved parties would like to see a settlement rather than anything else."

Prime Minister Netanyahu talked for the first time about the US Senate report establishing that the US State Department had interfered with the previous Israeli elections by funding the V-15, or "Victory in 2015" organization, which operated with the explicit goal of making sure Netanyahu lost the election. "No one denied that this happened. A Senate sub-committee published the report. V-15 were helped by governments, though the State Department still says it didn't know about it - but the money was donated in order to try to influence election results in Israel. The Likud protested against it in real time, and got no response from the Courts."