Gantz
GantzShira Diamant

Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz responded at a press conference to the bots network reported on this morning in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

"Friends, Netanyahu's going to lose, Netanyahu's stressed; he knows better than anyone that he'll lose the upcoming elections," Gantz said.

"The investigations reveal there's psychological terror against the citizens of the State. The citizens of the country are flooded with messages and fake online news," he said.

"Netanyahu doesn't recoil from lies, he doesn't hesitate in manipulations; there's no coincidence here," Gantz added.

MK Yair Lapid, one of the heads of the Blue and White leadership, appealed to the Central Elections Committee, the State Attorney, and the Attorney General to urgently examine the attempt to mislead Israel's election campaign.

Lapid's appeal came against the background of the publication in Yediot Ahronot and the New York Times that the Likud is operating a planned and heavily-funded network whose aim is to disseminate false information in an attempt to influence the electorate.

The CEC ruled on the prohibition of funded and unidentified propaganda on the Internet to influence election results in Israel illegally and Lapid claims the network that was exposed was contrary to the ruling.

Lapid demands the matter be examined urgently: "If the findings published in the article are well-founded, this is the most serious attempt since the establishment of the State to influence the results of the elections illegally."