One day after Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. Yohanan Danino said that an anonymous letter alleging sexual impropriety by Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar was certainly fabricated, Sa'ar spoke out about the incident for the first time on Wednesday.

"These are difficult days for me, my loved ones and other people who were hurt. This was a wound that is hard to describe," the minister said at a conference of municipal corporations in Eilat. "I would like to thank the wider public, who encouraged and supported me during days that were not easy for me. This is a very difficult time. I hope we arrive at a place where human dignity is once again a value that we cherish, a value that is upheld in the State of Israel."

The scandal emerged two weeks ago, with the publication of a letter in which Sa'ar was accused of having inappropriate sexual relations with employees who were subordinate to him. It was purportedly signed by his former adviser with the initials "M.C." The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and sent to members of the Likud Central Committee, asked the prime minister not to allow Sa'ar to continue as education minister.