Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Monday on the recent controversy surrounding Yamina MK Idit Silman's claim that she was physically assaulted recently over her political views, suggesting that she may have been untruthful as means of slandering the Right.
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At a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu called on Silman to substantiate her account of the incident "or apologize to the 2 million Israeli citizens from the national camp [Likud and its right-wing allies] she slandered."
Yamina MK and Coalition Chairwoman Idit Silman said that the attack on her took place after she stopped at a gas station to refill her car. After she had already left the station, she pulled over to go over work-related material, at which point the alleged perpetrator pushed her violently against the car.
Over the weekend, she repeated the claim, saying the man who supposedly attacked her at the gas station in Modi'in did so over her party's unseating of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the forming of a Left-Right coalition. She even went so far as to say that the perpetrator "slammed me against my car."
Late Saturday and early Sunday, members of the opposition and a growing number of people online asked her to elaborate on it but she could not come up with any specific details. Many also considered it odd that she did not report this alleged incident to the Knesset Guard, which is tasked with the protection of Israeli lawmakers. They also noted that every gas station in Modi'in has security cameras that should have footage of any unlawful activity.
Responding to the criticism, Silman published a lengthy Facebook post saying that "I am not under investigation; those who are constantly inciting against me are." She further said that "all those on Twitter who were quick to attack me have shown their own true colors."
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