Israel’s Attorney General Orders Probe Into Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Wife
The investigation stems from claims aired on Channel 12’s investigative program Uvda last week.
Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has launched an investigation into Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following allegations of harassment against political opponents.
The investigation stems from claims aired on Channel 12’s investigative program Uvda last week.
“An investigation should be opened into suspicions of witness harassment and obstruction of justice regarding the findings of the Uvda show,” Baharav-Miara said in a statement on Thursday.
The Channel 12’s report alleges that Sara Netanyahu intimidated a witness in her husband’s criminal trial and indirectly harassed both the attorney general and the deputy state attorney.
Hours before the investigation was announced, Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video defending his wife, dismissing the Channel 12 report as “biased” and “false propaganda,” CNN reports.
He criticized the network, stating, “I would like to see Channel 12 or the other incitement channels conduct an investigation about the left-wing camp. But don’t count on it. It simply won’t happen.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin condemned the attorney general’s decision, calling it “extreme selective enforcement.”
Levin wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “While Israeli citizens expect that anyone who threatened the police commissioner or called for defiance will be summoned for questioning, the advisor [Attorney General] and the state attorney are busy opening investigations following gossip on television.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also criticized Baharav-Miara, stating, “Someone who persecutes government ministers and their families politically cannot continue to serve as the Attorney General.”
The controversy adds to the backdrop of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, which began in January 2020.
He is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial, facing charges of fraud, breach of trust, and bribery across three separate cases.
Netanyahu has consistently denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
