Otzma Yehudit chairman MK Itamar Ben Gvir intends to sue former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, demanding NIS 100,000 in compensation for alleged slander Barak committed against him in an interview with Channel 12 News.
In a warning letter before taking measures sent by MK Ben Gvir through Adv. Hanmal Dorfman, he wrote to Barak that "during an interview on Channel 12, you claimed that one of the problems caused by the State of Israel failing to stop the wave of terrorism is that 'extremists on both sides,' Yahya Sinwar and Ben Gvir, act as if they have a common goal to ignite the fire on both sides, and the Israeli government must "deal with" both Sinwar and MK Ben Gvir."
It was also written: "During the interview, you claimed that Ben Gvir was a terrorist, and you even claimed that Ben-Gvir incited the assassination of Prime Minister Bennett, and you accused Ben-Gvir of standing in the center of a circle surrounded by young yeshiva students who called out 'Bennett, Bennett, beware. Rabin is looking for a friend.' which you called a black flag."
In light of these statements, Adv. Dorfman wrote: "It is absolutely clear that the accusation against my client that he is the one who incites the fire and is responsible for shocking attacks such as the attack in Elad is a callous, serious accusation, and above all - completely false."
MK Ben Gvir responded: "I arrived at the murder scene in Elad to show solidarity with the city's residents in their pain, and as evidenced by the events there, as soon as the calls 'Bennett beware Rabin is looking for a friend' began I silenced them, left that place, and protested those calls. Barak knew things well, but chose to hide them out of the clear knowledge that he was defaming, lying, and all with the intent of harming me. Barak will also have to learn: whoever slanders, will pay."