Israel Announces Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times Over Article on Prisoner Treatment

Israel will file a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times over a column that alleged widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli soldiers and prison guards, the country's Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The ministry announced the legal action days after the newspaper published the column written by Nicholas Kristof.

The piece cited accounts from 14 former Palestinian prisoners who described instances of sexual torture, including claims that Israeli troops trained dogs to participate in assaults on detainees. It described the article as containing "one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press" and noted that the newspaper provided its backing to the column.

The column appeared one day before the release of a two-year investigation that presented evidence of widespread sexual abuse against Israeli civilians during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The New York Times article asserted that sexual abuse formed a systematic part of operations by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees.

Officials did not provide additional details on the planned lawsuit, such as the court where it would be filed or the specific damages sought. The New York Times has not issued a public response to the announced legal action as of Thursday.