Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clashed on Thursday with the lawyer for Haaretz journalist Uri Misgav over whether Misgav had ever claimed that Netanyahu was terminally ill or had pancreatic cancer.
The exchange came during Netanyahu’s NIS 500,000 defamation lawsuit against Misgav, journalist Ben Caspit, and protest activist and lawyer Gonen Ben Itzhak.
The case, filed in the Ramle Magistrate’s Court and heard at the Tel Aviv District Court building for security reasons, concerns publications Netanyahu says falsely portrayed him as seriously ill and unfit to serve.
Misgav’s lawyer, Tali Lieblich, argued that the posts cited in the lawsuit did not say Netanyahu had pancreatic cancer, metastases, or a terminal illness.
Netanyahu said Misgav had nevertheless published false material designed to suggest that he was seriously unwell.
“Mr. Misgav puts out lies, takes things and presents them as facts,” Netanyahu said. “He builds piles of lies. The goal is to show that I am not in good health.”
Lieblich also showed Netanyahu clips from public appearances in which he mixed up dates and words, asking whether they justified public questions about his cognitive fitness.
“The attempt to undermine my cognitive sharpness is refuted by countless appearances and speeches,” Netanyahu replied. “This happens to countless people.”
When Lieblich noted that Netanyahu had once referred to one of his sons by the wrong name, he called the questioning “a cheap and unsuccessful attempt at character assassination.”
Judge Menahem Mizrahi repeatedly questioned how a detailed review of Netanyahu’s medical history advanced the case.
Lieblich said the defense was trying to show that Netanyahu and his doctors had kept parts of his health from the public - making criticism of the issue legitimate.
Questioning Netanyahus appearance, speech, medical status
Netanyahu rejected that argument. He said major developments in his health had been reported publicly and that medical records had been submitted confidentially to the court.
He also confirmed that disclosure of his prostate condition had been delayed for two months during the war before it appeared in his annual medical report.
Mizrahi eventually told Lieblich to summarize the defense’s position rather than go through each medical episode. He later ended the cross-examination after limiting the remaining time.
Netanyahu also said he had approached security authorities over publications he believed endangered him and his family. He said he understood that security officials had contacted Misgav more than once over reports concerning their locations.
He did not identify the posts or provide details of the alleged contacts in open court.
Netanyahu first testified in the case in May, when the hearing was cut short after roughly half an hour.
At that hearing, he denied ever having pancreatic cancer and said doctors found an early-stage cancerous growth in his prostate toward the end of 2025. He said he underwent five radiation treatments in January and February and that later tests showed the growth had been removed without metastasis.
Netanyahu alleges that Ben Itzhak falsely claimed he had pancreatic cancer; that Misgav questioned his appearance, speech, treatment, and hospital visits; and that Caspit reported on an alleged meeting with former IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amiram Levin, a meeting that Netanyahu denies took place.
All three defendants deny defaming Netanyahu. Ben Itzhak has also filed a NIS 480,000 counterclaim, alleging that Netanyahu and his son defamed him and violated his privacy.