Israel to sue NY Times for accusing IDF of Raping Palestinian Prisoners

The Foreign Ministry also accused the newspaper of publishing Kristof’s column despite having previously received Israeli material documenting sexual violence committed by Hamas.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ordered preparations Thursday for possible legal action against The New York Times after the newspaper published an opinion column alleging systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli personnel.

In a statement, the prime minister’s office said the article by veteran columnist Nicholas Kristof contained “one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press.”

The dispute centers on Kristof’s column, “The Silence in the Face of Rape Against Palestinians,” which alleged that Israeli soldiers, prison guards, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) interrogators, and civilians systematically sexually abused Palestinian men, women, and minors detained during the war in Gaza. Kristof wrote that the abuse had become “routine operating procedure.”

Israeli officials strongly rejected the accusations, describing them as false, inflammatory, and unsupported by evidence.

According to the statement, Netanyahu and Sa’ar instructed legal officials to begin proceedings against the newspaper over what they characterized as libel against the State of Israel and its security institutions.

The Foreign Ministry also accused the newspaper of publishing Kristof’s column despite having previously received Israeli material documenting sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.

Israeli officials said an independent Israeli report detailing allegations of systematic sexual violence by Hamas had been shared with the newspaper months earlier.

The ministry alleged that the Times chose to publish Kristof’s article shortly before the report’s release, a move officials suggested reflected editorial bias against Israel.

“This is uncharted territory,” Simon Plosker, editorial director of media watchdog HonestReporting, told The Press Service of Israel.

“Israel has faced a sustained media assault across major international outlets. Yet this week, while a 300-page report documenting Hamas’ sexual crimes on October 7 was released, international attention instead became consumed by lurid and unsupported allegations about Israeli dogs raping Palestinians. The timing is difficult to ignore,” Plosker said.

He was referring to the Civilian Commission for the Investigation of the Crimes of October 7’s release of a report detailing sexual and gender-based violence during the Hamas-led October 7 attack and against hostages held in Gaza.

Based on more than two years of investigation, the report includes testimony from more than 430 survivors, witnesses, former hostages, first responders, forensic experts, and families of victims.

The commission also compiled an archive of more than 10,000 photographs and video clips, alongside approximately 1,800 hours of footage.

The New York Times has not publicly responded to the Israeli government’s announcement of legal action.