Israeli authorities are preparing to sue The New York Times, accusing the media outlet of publishing false articles claiming that Israeli officials widely abused Palestinian detainees.
On 14 May 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israeli authorities will file a lawsuit against The New York Times over an article alleging widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
In a joint statement from the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered to "initiate a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times."
The statement said the lawsuit follows Nicholas Kristof’s publication of one of the most disgusting and distorted lies against the State of Israel in modern media via The New York Times, a piece which the newspaper also supported.
The investigative article was published on Monday, 11 May, as an opinion column by Nicholas Kristof, based on testimonies collected from 14 Palestinian men and women in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, claiming they were sexually abused by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces.
The report describes “various forms of widespread sexual violence against men, women, and even children, perpetrated by soldiers, settlers, security service investigators from Shin Bet, and most notably Israeli prison guards.” However, it states there is "no evidence that Israeli leaders ordered such abuses."
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately rejected the report upon publication, stating that Kristof relied on "unverified sources linked to networks associated with Hamas."
Additionally, Israel accused the newspaper of deliberately timing the publication to "undermine the credibility" of Israel’s independent report on sexual violence committed by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which was released the same day.
Since Hamas launched its attack in 2023, Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank, triggering the ongoing Gaza Strip war.
.cna