The Likud party announce this evening (Thursday) that party officials have decided to file a police complaint against attorney Ofer Bartel for calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an "Iranian spy."
"We demand that the prosecutor's office and law enforcement agencies take decisive action against the incitement that is raging in the media against Prime Minister Netanyahu and the members of the coalition," said the party.
Bartel, a former candidate for the Supreme Court, criticized the prime minister's refusal to commit to abiding by Supreme Court rulings overruling Basic Laws during an interview with Channel 12 News on Monday night. He said: "I think, and forgive me for being blunt, I think Bibi is an Iranian spy. If there's anything that harms the country's security, economy, society, and every other basic thing in the country, it's the prime minister. The damage done is so much more harmful than if Iranian rockets were falling here."
Today, Bartel clarified his comments to 103 FM Radio.
"Everyone understood that I don't really think that Netanyahu is an Iranian spy. I was missing one small word - like. It's about being such a person in causing us damage. There is no area where the country has not been damaged as a result of the current government in recent months. An hour after the event, I wrote that the choice of words was very unsuccessful, and I meant it as a metaphor and nothing more," he said.
"I assumed that everyone understood this, but it is convenient to grab onto these two words. I agree that I said words that I should not have said. We all see that in these months endless damage is caused to the security and economy of the country, to the life of the regime and society, every day there is a crazy populist bill. I will always go to the reserves, as long as the army wants my services," Bartel added.