Israel says it is taking legal action against The New York Times for defamation, after the US outlet published a story citing Palestinian survivors' accounts of rape by Israeli forces.
The move was announced by Israel on its official X page, as well as in a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who denounced the article as a "blood libel".
"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, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times ," the statement read.
The Israeli leader, who also threatened in August to sue the NYT over an article about starvation in Gaza but did not follow through, did not specify where and under what jurisdiction the complaint would be filed. 'Abuse and intimidation' Kristof's article, titled 'The Silence That Meets The Rape of Palestinians', was published by the NYT on Tuesday, and provoked a flurry of apparent indignation by Israeli activists and pro-Israel groups on social media. In response, pro-Palestine activists shared prominent Israeli figures - including comedians, soldiers, and politicians - joking and appearing to advocate for the rape of detainees.
In his article, Kristof cites the testimonies of more than a dozen Palestinians - including men, women, and children - who say they were sexually abused by Israeli soldiers, settlers, and interrogators. At least three of the survivors are named, including well-known Palestinian activist Issa Amro .
"Many reported that they often had their genitals yanked or were beaten on the testicles. Hand-held metal detectors were used to probe between men’s naked legs and then smashed into their private parts; some men had to have their testicles amputated by doctors after beatings, according to the Euro-Med monitor," Kristof wrote. Other survivors said Israeli forces set dogs on them who performed sex acts on the detainees, while others alleged being penetrated by batons and clubs.
One Palestinian farmer who spoke to Kristof after his release from months of administrative detention initially agreed to have his name published, but later retracted consent after a visit from Israel's Shin Bet, according to the article.
Former detainees told the NYT journalist that Palestinian victims of sexual abuse receive less attention largely due to "threats by Israeli authorities, who periodically warn prisoners on release to keep quiet". While most of the survivors cited are men, who make up the majority of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the article also draws on the testimonies of Palestinian women. “They had their hands all over my body,” one woman told Kristoff, referring to Israeli soldiers who she said stripped her of her clothes multiple times. "To be honest, I don’t know if they raped me."
Another case cited is that of an unnamed woman who said she was blindfolded and raped multiple times by Israeli soldiers who recorded the ordeal.
Children who spoke to Christof also recounted being threatened with rape while in detention, not only against them, but also against their mothers and sisters. NYT still 'pro-Israel' Israel's threat of legal action against the NYT may come as a surprise to many observers, given that the outlet has been strongly criticised over its perceived pro-Israel slant in covering the region.
Kristof's article itself was published under the paper's 'Opinion' section, similar to an October 2024 article which cited the testimonies of 65 doctors who worked in Gaza who said Israeli forces were deliberately shooting Palestinian children in the head.
Readers at the time highlighted this on social media, questioning why the article - which included X-ray scan slides provided by the doctors - was not published in the outlet's news section.
By contrast, the NYT's controversial 2024 piece, 'Screams without Voices', which alleged a campaign of rape by Hamas during the 7 October, 2023 attack against Israel, was published as an investigation. The New Arab reached out to the NYT for comment on this.
Kristof's NYT report also foregrounds the Palestinians' testimonies by referring to Israel's own allegations of rape and sexual abuse by Hamas in the article's first two paragraphs.
"It’s a simple proposition: Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape," Kristof writes in the article's opener.
"Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu and many U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio, condemned that sexual violence, and Netanyahu rightly called on 'all civilized leaders' to 'speak up'," he continued. Israelis advocating for sexual abuse The article has sparked fierce debate online, with pro-Palestine activists highlighting the statements of Israeli soldiers and officials who appear to advocate for sexual abuse against detainees.
This includes one interview with an Israeli soldier on Israel's Channel 14 who names a dog called "Django" who "took care of some Nukhbas", referring to suspected Hamas fighters held at the notorious Sde Teiman detention centre, where Israeli forces have been accused of sexually abusing Palestinian detainees.
In one incident at Sde Teiman in July 2024, soldiers were accused of stabbing a Palestinian detainee with a sharp object in his rectum, causing him cracked ribs, an internal tear and a punctured lung that required him to be transferred to hospital.
Footage of the incident was shown on Israeli television, and was later revealed to have been leaked to Israel's Channel 12 with the approval of then army legal chief Major-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.
Amid international outrage over the footage, including from the US State Department, Israel arrested five soldiers, who were acquitted of sexual abuse earlier this year.
The arrests prompted immediate anger among Israeli rightwingers, who attempted to storm the Sde Teiman base to free the soldiers. During the investigation, some of the soldiers made media masked appearances on Israeli television, where they applauded by audiences.
The unnamed Palestinian victim, who was later forced to use a stoma bag due to his injuries, is mentioned in Kristof's report, but declined to speak to the journalist.