Naftali Bennett forks over 35,000 shekels to Ben-Gvir in settlement following threats case

Naftali Bennett's return to the political arena is causing storms on all fronts. One such incident arose this morning (Wednesday), when Kan correspondent Michael Shemesh reported that Bennett had paid Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir 35,000 shekels as part of a settlement agreement in a libel suit filed by the chairman of Otzma Yehudit against Bennett's wife, Gilat.

At the same time as the lawsuit was filed in 2020, Ben-Gvir was interviewed by Reshet Bet and said that he had information "that will break up the Bennett and Shaked families." The lawsuit against Gilat Bennett was filed after she claimed that Ben-Gvir was a Shin Bet agent. Bennett issued a long and harsh response to the publication, tweeting on X: "There is no and never has been any silence fee. This is a complete lie, alongside a cycle of old publications." It should be noted that the money in the settlement was transferred as a donation to IDF soldiers.

Bennett added: "So for the benefit of the public, we will put things in order. Here are the facts: A few years ago, during an election campaign, thugs broke into my family's home. In response, Gilat Bennett wrote a post accusing Ben-Gvir's people of the act. Ben-Gvir sued Gilat Bennett for defaming the attribution of the thuggish hack to Ben-Gvir's people, without proof that it was indeed Ben-Gvir's people. In a mediation proceeding, a compromise was agreed upon that included compensation, which was executed. Is. No silence fees, no blackmail, nothing."

Bennett believes that Ben-Gvir is a particularly failed national security minister, who engages in gimmicks and PR that characterize this government, and that is why under his watch, the number of murders in Israel (not including the 7/10 massacre) has doubled.