Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel plans to pursue legal action against The New York Times and one of its journalists over a report alleging widespread sexual violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers, prison guards and settlers.
According to Reuters, Netanyahu said he instructed his legal advisers “to consider the harshest legal action” against the newspaper and veteran journalist Nicholas Kristof following publication of the article.
“They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel’s valiant soldiers,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law. Truth will prevail,” he added.
Netanyahu did not specify where or when any lawsuit would be filed.
The controversy centers on an article written by Kristof from the occupied West Bank, which included testimonies from Palestinian detainees alleging sexual abuse while in Israeli custody. One testimony cited in the article claimed a Palestinian prisoner was assaulted using a dog, allegations Israel has denied.
In response to criticism from Israeli lawmakers, The New York Times defended the report on Wednesday, saying the testimonies had undergone extensive verification.
“The accounts of the 14 men and women interviewed were corroborated with other witnesses, when possible, and with people the victims confided in — including family members and lawyers,” newspaper spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement, adding that the details were “extensively fact-checked.”
The report also drew attention to broader allegations of abuse linked to the war in Gaza. In the article, Kristof wrote that American taxpayer money supports Israel’s security establishment, arguing that the United States was therefore “complicit” in the alleged abuses.
The United Nations and multiple human rights organizations have previously reported allegations of sexual violence committed by both Israeli personnel and members of Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
Netanyahu had previously threatened legal action against The New York Times over its reporting on conditions in Gaza, including allegations of starvation, though no lawsuit was ultimately filed.
