Yair Netanyahu's defamation lawsuit court appeal was denied by the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Monday and he is ordered to pay NIS 250,000 in compensation.
Former Walla Editor-in-Chief Avi Alkalay filed a defamation lawsuit against the opposition leader's son after he made baseless claims that Alkalay was a "plant of Wexner Foundation" and an "accomplice to conspiracies" against his father.
Netanyahu also insinuated Alkalay should be arrested for "acts that need to be investigated," though he did not specify the acts he was referring to.
In addition, Netanyahu shared reports on his social media accounts, claiming Alkalay forged letters written between Alkalay and former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua. Upon accepting the lawsuit, Netanyahu argued he didn't read the reports that he had shared on social media.
The magistrate court's decision to deny Netanyahu's appeal was made after he didn't file a letter of defense during the 80-day period designated for him to do so. Netanyahu appealed this decision, arguing the lawsuit was illegally filed against him, as confirmation of filing was sent to the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. Netanyahu also claimed the lawsuit's confirmation of filing was missing his signature.
In the deposition filed last year by Netanyahu's attorney Yossi Cohen, it was argued the magistrate court's decision was "one sided and made due to deception and lack of good faith by Alkalay."
The magistrate's court judge Kohava Levy ruled that "it is undisputed that the defendant is not the Prime Minister nor did he claim to work in the Prime Minister's Office. Nonetheless, Netanyahu is currently residing in the address the confirmation of filing was sent to, and was aware of the lawsuit filed against him."
"The defendant did not bother to provide evidence for his claims," judge Levy added.
Netanyahu will be forced to compensate Alkalay in the sum of NIS 250,000, as well as paying NIS 29,250 in trial expenses. He has informed the court he will appeal the decision.