The court rejected Yair Netanyahu's request to overturn a ruling against him in a lawsuit filed against him by media figure Avi Alkalai - claiming that he was not even aware of the filing of the lawsuit, and that it was not presented to him.
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Judge Kochava Levy did not accept Netanyahu Jr.'s arguments and decided to leave the verdict intact - and even order Yair Netanyahu to pay additional legal costs in the amount of approximately 30,000 shekels.
Following the decision, Netanyahu will be forced to pay Alkalai, formerly the editor of the Walla website, 250,000 shekels and legal costs in the amount of 30,000 shekels.
About a year and a half ago, the court ruled that Yair Netanyahu would compensate journalist Avi Alkalai with a quarter of a million shekels for defamation. The ruling was given at the time, as mentioned, in the absence of a defense.
Alkalai filed the defamation lawsuit in November 2019, after Yair Netanyahu shared information on social media as if Alkalai was a Wexner Foundation implant within the Walla system and was acting against his father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Alkalai's lawyer, Ron Levintel, said in response: "It is regrettable that the defendant initially disdained the plaintiff, published things without checking them, and later disdained the court and the law, and did not bother to file a defense. One could expect more respectful standards from the son of a prime minister.".
Yair Netanyahu's representative responded: "The court's decision ignores the facts and the law. It has never happened in Israel that a request to cancel a judgment, given in the absence of a defense, was not accepted. The court ignored the fact that Yair never accepted the lawsuit, and ignores the law that determines the consequences of failing to submit a lawsuit. Yair intends to appeal.".
MK Itamar Ben-Gvir responded: "The decision not to overturn the verdict given in the absence of a defense against Yair Netanyahu reeks of blatant political malfeasance! In all my years as a lawyer, I have never encountered a verdict in the absence of a defense that was not overturned, even if the defendant had 0 claims. The defendant was always allowed to defend himself. And the ridiculous expenses: 30 thousand NIS for a single request? The district court will be forced to intervene.".
