A former senior defense official accused of defamation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the lawsuit is an attempt to silence critics and suppress public debate over alleged financial ties between Netanyahu and the Gulf state of Qatar, according to court documents filed this week.
Dr. Udi Levi, who served for three decades in Israeli intelligence agencies including the Mossad, the National Security Council, and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate, filed a legal defense this week in response to a 500,000-shekel ($150,000) libel suit Netanyahu launched earlier this year. The lawsuit followed an April radio interview in which Levi suggested that Israeli authorities must investigate potential Qatari payments to Netanyahu and his inner circle.
In his court filing, Levi described the lawsuit as a "SLAPP suit" — a strategic lawsuit against public participation — aimed at intimidating those who raise concerns about Netanyahu’s alleged financial entanglements with Doha. He accused the prime minister of routinely using party-funded legal action to suppress scrutiny.
According to Levi, since the eruption of the so-called “Qatargate” affair, in which close aides to Netanyahu are accused of accepting payment from the Qatari government to advance Doha's interests, he has received “numerous troubling reports” about alleged witnesses to cash transfers made to Netanyahu’s family, both in Israel and abroad. These included claims of foreign bank accounts, digital wallets and real estate purchases funded with undeclared money.
Levi is demanding Netanyahu provide detailed documentation as part of the proceedings, including verified bank statements, cryptocurrency records and property purchase documents involving the prime minister and his family. He also requested information on political campaign funding received by Netanyahu and his parties in the 2012 and 2018 elections.
The original lawsuit stems from an interview Levi gave to journalist Liat Regev on public broadcaster Kan Reshet Bet, where he accused Netanyahu of evading accountability and urged a full investigation into what he called a “Qatari bribery scandal.” Levi also said intelligence agencies have long possessed material pointing to suspicious financial flows involving Netanyahu’s circle, but that no formal probe had been conducted.
Netanyahu, through attorney Uriel Nizri, denied the allegations, calling Levi’s remarks “sick and insane” and accusing political opponents of spreading “absurd lies” to undermine a sitting prime minister during wartime. The prime minister also claimed Levi used his security background to give false legitimacy to what he called baseless conspiracy theories.
In his defense, filed by attorneys from Goldfarb Gross Seligman, Levi maintained that his statements were expressions of opinion on a matter of exceptional public interest. He denied committing defamation and said he had criticized the handling of the investigation into Qatargate, not made factual accusations.
“The prime minister, a public official, is not immune from public scrutiny, particularly when there are credible questions about financial conduct,” Levi wrote in his defense. “Regrettably, Netanyahu is abusing his power and the legal system to chill legitimate criticism.”
Levi also invoked legal defenses of truth and public interest, arguing that there is a pressing need for a thorough and impartial investigation into Qatari financial activity in Israel’s political system, including potential transfers to Netanyahu and his family.
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Jonatan Urich, a close Netanyahu aide implicated in the Qatargate affair
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
He said his comments were based in part on the so-called "Raven documents," a trove of leaked intelligence materials published by Reuters in 2019, which allegedly included details of financial transfers from Qatar to high-ranking officials worldwide, including Netanyahu. Levi acknowledged the documents are disputed but said they warranted further investigation.
In addition to the Raven files, Levi said he had received independent reports regarding undeclared assets and foreign cash transfers linked to the Netanyahu family. He cited news reports alleging that Netanyahu’s son, Avner, purchased a €500,000 property near London in cash under a pseudonym, and that another son, Yair, acquired property in New Haven, Connecticut.
Levi insisted that these claims merit public and legal scrutiny, particularly amid the ongoing Qatargate investigation by law enforcement. He argued that his radio interview was a good-faith call for transparency, not libel.