Israel's Netanyahu says suing New York Times over Palestinian rape article

"Israel's Prime Minister's Office made the announcement three days after the release of the article by longtime New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, which was based on the accounts of 14 male and female Palestinian victims. The report added to a growing body of evidence of systematic Israeli sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees, whose numbers have soared since October 7, 2023. That evidence has been documented by rights groups and media, including Al Jazeera."

"Israel had previously condemned The New York Times report as blood libel, but went further on Thursday, saying Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. It further called the report 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."

"For its part, The New York Times and Kristoff have stood by the article, with a spokesperson on Wednesday calling the report a deeply reported piece of opinion journalism. The accounts of the 14 men and women he interviewed were corroborated with other witnesses, whenever possible, and with people the victims confided in that includes family members and lawyers, the spokesperson, Charlie Stadtlander, said in a statement on X."

"Details were extensively fact-checked, with accounts further cross-referenced with news reporting, independent research from human-rights groups, surveys and in one case, the UN testimony, it said. Independent experts were consulted on the assertions in the piece throughout reporting and fact-checking. The newspaper did not"

Israel announced it is suing The New York Times for defamation after the newspaper published rape allegations involving Palestinian detainees and Israeli forces. The announcement came from the Prime Minister’s Office three days after the publication of a Nicholas Kristof piece based on accounts from 14 Palestinian victims. Israel said Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar instructed the lawsuit and called the report the most hideous and distorted lies ever published about Israel. The New York Times and Kristof said they stand by the article, describing it as deeply reported opinion journalism. The newspaper said the accounts were corroborated with other witnesses, family members, and lawyers, and that extensive fact-checking included cross-referencing with other reporting, independent human-rights research, surveys, and UN testimony in one case.

Read at www.aljazeera.com