Israel plans to file a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times regarding a contentious opinion piece, reported AFP, citing a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
On May 14, 2026, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally ordered the legal action.
According to a joint statement released by their offices, Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have directed the "initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times".
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A post from the official X handle of Israeli PM read, "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 post further stated.
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 of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 14, 2026
According to a New York Times report, there is pervasive sexual abuse against Palestinian captives by Israeli soldiers, interrogators, settlers, and prison guards.
Published on Monday, the investigation draws on testimonies collected in the occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said they were sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of Israeli security forces
The Times columnist Nicholas Kristof detailed "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" in his investigation.
"There is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes," the report states.
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A United Nations document published in March of last year that described sexual violence as a component of Israel's "standard operating procedures" was also cited in the report.
According to one of the reported statements, a female officer allegedly squeezed an inmate's genitalia, leaving him in excruciating pain. Another detainee said he was sexually attacked with a rubber baton.
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