Netanyahu Ordered to Delete Air Base Video, Pay Fine, 2nd Ruling
An Israeli broadcaster reported Tuesday that committee chairman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg directed Netanyahu to delete a video recorded at Tel Nof Air Base from his personal accounts and pay 2,500 shekels (about $821) in costs.
Sohlberg concluded that posting the video on Netanyahu's personal accounts breached election law because it drew on public resources, among them a military base and an Israeli Air Force aircraft, the broadcaster said.
The ruling let Netanyahu leave the video on his official accounts.
Netanyahu posted the clip on Sept. 29 from Tel Nof Air Base in central Israel, with an Israeli Air Force aircraft in the background. In it, he cautioned that Israel could come under attack ahead of the vote, saying there were "indications that our enemies will try to attack us before the elections," according to another Israeli broadcaster.
The decision followed Sohlberg's acceptance on Sunday of five petitions against Netanyahu over the use of official speeches and the Israeli military for election propaganda on his personal social media accounts.
Among them was a video of Netanyahu visiting an Israeli military position in southern Lebanon.
Sohlberg found that the edited clip emphasized the achievements of the government and the prime minister, while segments about lifting soldiers' morale and honoring them had been cut.
"This is, of course, election propaganda," the committee chairman said.
He ordered Netanyahu to remove the posts and pay 29,000 shekels (about $9,000) in costs.
Israel is set to hold a Knesset election on Oct. 27, with parties in Netanyahu's governing coalition, led by his Likud party, facing opposition parties.
Recent polls have not shown either bloc securing on its own the 61 seats required to form a government. A KAN poll published Sunday by Israel's public broadcaster gave opposition parties 52 seats, against 51 for Netanyahu's coalition.
Netanyahu has led the current government since late December 2022, a coalition described as the most right-wing in Israel's history.
He is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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