בנט וסער
בנט וסערשריה דיאמנט/TPS

The New Hope Party has made it clear to the Central Election Commission that it is behind the publications against the Yamina Party and Naftali Bennett.

The party's lawyer stated that "beyond the party's announcements to the media, the party leaders have stated in the media that it is the party that is behind the publications."

According to them, "MK Yifat Shasha-Biton explicitly admitted that it was the party that was behind the publication: 'We uploaded articles that referred to Bennet. This is not something we did covertly. In the end, the goal of all of us is one - to bring stability, to bring unity, with Gideon Sa'ar being the only one who knows how to connect everyone. The wars with Bennett are not helpful. Yair Lapid cannot form a government because he is Left of center."

They further note that "Ze'ev Elkin said similar things in an interview: 'I think it was explicitly stated that this is a sponsored publication. The issue here is very, very simple. We did not initiate it. We just redesigned it. The one who refuses to say where he is is Naftali Bennett. He attacks Netanyahu on the one hand and on the other hand doesn't say whether he is willing to sit down with him."

The New Hope Party's lawyer added that "to avoid doubt, these expenses were included in advance in the election expenses that will be reported by the party to the State Comptroller by law."

The Yamina Party said in a response: "Make a surprised face - the party that funded defamatory articles anonymously against Bennett has been exposed. This is old politics, not New Hope."