Israel threatens legal action against New York Times over column on abuse of Palestinian detainees

JERUSALEM: Israel has said it will move to sue The New York Times over an opinion article that alleged a broad pattern of sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees.

According to a joint statement issued by the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the two leaders ordered the “initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times ”. The statement described the article by Nicholas Kristof as “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”.

Kristof, a well-known opinion columnist, based his article on testimonies collected in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces. The piece said it had identified “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”.

The New York Times rejected the threatened legal action. Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the newspaper, said in a statement that any lawsuit over the “deeply reported opinion column” would have no basis.

This threat, similar to one made last year, is part of a well-worn political playbook that aims to undermine independent reporting and stifle journalism that does not fit a specific narrative.

she said.

Kristof’s article also stated that there was no evidence that Israeli leaders had ordered rapes.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Kristof had relied “on unverified sources tied to Hamas-linked networks”. It also accused the newspaper of choosing the publication date in order to “undermine” an independent Israeli report on alleged Hamas sexual violence during the Oct 7, 2023 attack, which was released the same day.

Context of the dispute

Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank since the Hamas attack in 2023, which led to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

The dispute is unfolding in the United States, where legal protections for journalistic expression are strong. In libel cases, plaintiffs generally must show that false information was published deliberately and with harmful intent.

The report also noted that US President Donald Trump and his allies have brought several lawsuits against media organisations, with some ending in settlements rather than face possible consequences from his administration.