Israeli Prime Minister files libel suit against TV channel

Israeli Prime Minister files libel suit against TV channel

2011-04-12 23:51:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife on Tuesday filed a libel suit against a local television channel and two of its correspondents accusing them of reporting false information about their private travels abroad.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are suing the channel for 3.5 shekels ($1,016,000 million) for reporting false information in their coverage of what has come to be known as the "Bibi-Tours" affair.

The TV report showed that Netanyahu had double-billed travel expenses in 2006. It said he attended a fundraising event in the U.S. for the Ashdod Medical Center, billing it $8,237 for the flights. He also allegedly billed the Jewish Heritage Foundation for the flights.

Netanyahu's lawyer, David Shimron, said at a press conference that "there has not been as a grave a case of defamation in israel since the 1950s." Speaking about the report, he added that "this is filled with libel from beginning to end."

Last week, Netanyahu's party, Likud, issued a statement claiming proof that the prime minister had not double-booked the alleged trip.

The lawsuit comes only a month after Netanyahu filed two separate one-million-shekel libel suits against Channel 10 and Ma'ariv newspaper for the same reasons. A Channel 10 investigative correspondent reported on a series of flights that Netanyahu took with his wife Sara in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which were allegedly paid for by wealthy associates. Meanwhile, the newspaper also published a report linked to the affair.

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