Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed rumors about his health for the first time on Wednesday, as his office clarified: "The prime minister is not ill, and he certainly does not have 'pancreatic cancer'," a terminal disease that generally results in rapid death within a year.
A lawsuit filed by Netanyahu against protest activist Gonen Ben-Yitzhak and journalists Ben Caspit and Uri Misgav stated: "In recent weeks, and especially in recent days, the defendants have been spreading false and malicious information about the prime minister, presenting misleading portrayals of his health condition."
"These include vicious, false and severe lies, such as claims that the prime minister has pancreatic cancer and is unfit for office. These statements are entirely false," according to the lawsuit.
Journalist Uri Misgav responded. "I am deeply dismayed to see what the prime minister of Israel is focusing on during a time of war in the south and north, with hostages dying in captivity and soldiers being killed and injured. This is yet another frivolous lawsuit from the Netanyahu family. When it officially reaches me and not just the media, it will receive an appropriate and proper response," he said.