Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his office is under "a wild and relentless attack" in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Sunday due to the ongoing leaked documents case, in which suspects have been arrested and had their detention extended.
During the statement, Netanyahu criticized the "media's fake news" and called the unfolding investigation "lies and unfounded slander."
Furthermore, he called the developments "attempts to intimidate me and my people...creating stories out of thin air."
The ongoing scandal has rocked Netanyahu’s office, with accusations of security mismanagement and deliberate manipulation of sensitive information.
Netanyahu noted that scandal accusations have been untimely, as they have come while the government "work tirelessly to repel our enemies who seek our destruction, tirelessly striving to defeat them. While I lead the war and fend off international attacks from various fronts," he added.
"We are now facing an additional front—the media's fake news," Netanyahu stated.
Netanyahu then addressed that serious criminal leaks had poured into Israel and explained that with them, "lies and slander" were usually accompanied.
Netanyahu claims accusations are part of 'witch hunt'
To explain further the accusations, Netanyahu emphasized that he knows that the accusations are part of "an organized witch hunt aimed at harming the country's leadership and weakening us amid the war."
"I say as clearly as possible. This will not deter me," Netanyahu declared and expressed that he remains determined to lead the country into "absolute victory."
New information surfaces in the backdrop
The newest revelation in the scandal from Saturday was that employees were granted viewing access to classified information, which came from footage obtained from the PMO security cameras, a KAN News report said.
Sources familiar with the details told KAN that "internal distribution of the documentation raised fears of an attempt to extort the officer who worked with the PMO and possessed sensitive information."
One source told KAN that "the Prime Minister's Office behaved criminally; the members of the PMO should pay the price."