JERUSALEM (AP) " Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused the publisher of an influential newspaper of carrying out a smear campaign against him in the hopes of pushing him out of office.
Netanyahu took to Facebook to attack Noni Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot daily, claiming the publisher launched the campaign to advance his own personal business interests.
Yediot and its sister news site Ynet have taken an aggressive stand against the Israeli prime minister, exposing what they called several political and personal "scandals" ahead of the March 17 election.
Netanyahu said Mozes was trying to get even with Yediot's rival, the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom, and reclaim his dominance in the Israeli media landscape.
The Israeli premier said Mozes was behind the "ridiculous, orchestrated defamation" against Netanyahu and his wife in an attempt to remove his Likud party from power.