Israel threatens lawsuit against New York Times

Israel has threatened legal action against The New York Times over an opinion piece alleging widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers, settlers and security personnel.

According to a joint statement issued by the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the Israeli government has ordered the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

Israeli officials described the article by columnist Nicholas Kristof as “one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press.”

Kristof’s report cited testimonies from 14 Palestinian men and women in the Israeli-occupied West Bank who alleged they had been subjected to sexual assault by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces. The article described what it called a broader pattern of sexual violence involving soldiers, prison guards, interrogators and settlers.

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The New York Times rejected Israel’s accusations and defended the article as a thoroughly researched opinion piece. Newspaper spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said any legal claim against the publication lacked merit and accused Israeli authorities of attempting to undermine independent journalism.

She said threats of legal action were part of a broader effort to discourage reporting that does not align with a particular political narrative.

The report itself stated that there was no evidence Israeli leaders had directly ordered acts of sexual violence. However, Israel’s foreign ministry argued that the article relied on “unverified sources tied to Hamas-linked networks.”

Israeli officials also claimed the timing of the publication was intended to overshadow an independent Israeli report released the same day concerning allegations of sexual violence committed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.

The dispute comes amid heightened international scrutiny over the treatment of Palestinian detainees during the ongoing Gaza conflict and tensions in the occupied West Bank.