Israeli politics has been roiled by allegations from Labor Party MP Naama Lazimi, who claimed during a Knesset Finance Committee at a February 23 meeting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair was forced into exile after allegedly hitting his father.

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Netanyahu's government, already facing domestic and international pressure over the Gaza conflict. While the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal remains intact and Netanyahu’s trial is ongoing, the prime minister will look to stabilise his government and steer clear of further controversy to advance his governance agenda.

“I want to ask if this amount is still budgeted and whether there is still an intention to finance [Yair Netanyahu’s] stay because he hit the prime minister and was forced to go abroad because he harmed a symbol of government,” Lazimi stated during the meeting.

The claims, made during budget discussions, sparked immediate controversy. The Likud party strongly rejected the accusations, calling them an “absolute lie and detestable, a new low from the depths of the Left's sewer”, as per The Jerusalem Post.

Lazimi also raised questions about Sara Netanyahu's extended two-month stay in Miami, demanding transparency about the funding and costs involved.

She referenced previous reports of Yair Netanyahu's security costs reaching NIS 2.5mn ($700,000) annually, questioning whether these expenses continue during his absence.

In response to the allegations, Yair Netanyahu has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Lazimi. He and his legal team appeared to confirm this action by sharing Channel 14's report of the legal proceedings on social media.

Since being broadcast on television and social media, Middle Eastern media, including Arabic language sources across the region have picked up on the potential breach of the law in Israel. 

Unfriendly countries such as Iraq and Iran also reported the news, enraging Israeli supporters of Netanyahu, who said that the accusations undermined his standing. 

“His son takes after his mother", wrote one Iranian commentator on Tabnak's website following its report in Persian, while another wrote, “The son looks so much like the evil son of Omar Saad in the Mukhtar [TV] series.”

In Iraq, the Netanyahu son story was trending on local news websites as a popular story above local media.