Israel to sue NYT over ‘most hideous and distorted lies’ report on sex abuse of Palestinian detainees

Israeli authorities are set to take legal action against The New York Times over a report that alleged widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, AFP reported.

Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered the “initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times”, according to a joint statement issued by their offices.

It said the lawsuit was being pursued “following the publication by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times of one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press, which also received the backing of the newspaper”.

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The foreign ministry rejected the report when it was published, saying Kristof had based it "on unverified sources tied to Hamas-linked networks".

It also accused the paper of deliberately timing the publication to "undermine" an independent Israeli report on Hamas sexual violence perpetrated during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which was published on the same day.

Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas's 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Published on Monday, the investigation draws on testimonies collected in the occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said they were sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of Israeli security forces.

Israel's foreign ministry strongly rejected the Times report, describing it as being part of “a false and well-orchestrated anti-Israel campaign”.

Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, which triggered Israel's offensive in Gaza.

The report by Nicholas Kristof, a columnist at the Times, described "a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children -- by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards".

According to the report, “there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes.”

The report also referenced a United Nations document released in March last year, which described sexual violence as part of what it called Israel’s “standard operating procedures.”

Among the testimonies cited, one detainee said he was sexually assaulted using a rubber baton, while another described being left in severe pain after a female guard allegedly squeezed his genitals.