After having a flight delayed to the US by over 8 hours due to pilots slowdown, I submitted a formal request for compensation. Today I received the reply and I'll share the relevant line in Hebrew:
בשל הנסיבות, לא יכולנו למנוע את שינוי הטיסה, על פי חוק שירותי תעופה 2012, ומכח החריג בסעיף 6.(ה)(1)(2) – אין טיסה זו מזכה בפיצוי.
Basically there appears to be a clause which they are quoting which allows them to not pay compensation. I do not have access to the full law so I am unable to determine whether they are legally correct or not.