Jerusalem: Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar have instructed the initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. This legal action follows the publication of an article by columnist Nicholas Kristof.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Israeli Foreign Ministry shared a statement on social media platform X, condemning the article as "one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press." The ministry accused the newspaper of supporting the controversial piece and confirmed that legal measures would be taken against The New York Times.

The controversy erupted after Kristof published an opinion piece titled "The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians." The column alleged that Palestinian detainees were subjected to widespread sexual violence by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, settlers, and interrogators. Kristof claimed to have interviewed 14 Palestinian men and women who detailed experiences of sexual assaults and other forms of abuse during detention or attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.

Kristof's article noted that there was "no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes," but argued that the Israeli authorities had established "a security apparatus where sexual violence has become," referencing a UN report, one of Israel's "standard operating procedures." The article included testimonies alleging rape with objects, genital beatings, threats of sexual violence, and humiliation during imprisonment.

The columnist cited reports from organizations like Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Save the Children, B'Tselem, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, which document allegations of sexual abuse and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. Kristof also referenced a UN report from the previous year accusing Israel of "systematically" subjecting Palestinians to "sexualized torture."

At the time of the announcement, The New York Times and Kristof had not publicly responded to Israel's lawsuit.