Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday ordered legal action against The New York Times over what they described as “one of the most horrifying and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in modern journalism.”
The decision follows an opinion column by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, who accused IDF soldiers and Israeli prison guards of systematic and brutal sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees. Among the claims cited in the column were allegations of rape using dogs, metal rods and other forms of sexual violence.
Netanyahu later wrote on X that he had instructed his legal advisers to consider “the harshest legal action” against The New York Times and Kristof, accusing them of defaming Israeli soldiers and “perpetuating a blood libel about rape.”
“They tried to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel’s valiant soldiers,” Netanyahu wrote. “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. Truth will prevail.”
The move came a day after Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry published a report saying one of the key sources used in Kristof’s column was Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a Geneva-based organization headed by Ramy Abdu, whom Israel has linked to Hamas.
Kristof’s column, published under the headline “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” alleged that sexual abuse had become a “standard operating procedure.” The column included graphic accounts of Palestinians whose genitals were allegedly pulled or beaten, men who allegedly underwent testicle amputations because of violence inflicted on them, and claims that detainees were raped with metal batons. Kristof said the column was based on interviews with 14 alleged victims.
According to the ministry, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor presents itself as a regional human rights organization focused on the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, but in practice concentrates much of its work on harming Israel and its interests.
The ministry said Abdu, Euro-Med’s founder and chairman, was the subject of an Israeli administrative seizure order signed in 2020 by then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz under counterterrorism legislation. The order, which expired in August 2022, was issued over Abdu’s role as a board member of iPalestine, which Israel designated as a Hamas-affiliated terrorist organization.
The report said Euro-Med’s activity includes field documentation, submissions to U.N. mechanisms and the promotion of legal proceedings in international forums. It also said the organization provided South Africa’s legal team at the International Court of Justice with material used to support genocide allegations against Israel, including documentation of alleged mass graves and damage to Gaza’s health system.
The ministry also cited posts by Abdu that it said showed anti-Israel positions and support for the October 7 massacre. In a post published on May 31, 2025, Abdu wrote: “If October 7 is seen as justification for genocide and displacement, then by the same logic, what Israel has done — besieging Gaza, controlling lives, killing hundreds every year in cold blood, occupying land for decades and expanding settlements — justifies a million October 7s.”
In another post published on January 31, 2026, he wrote: “Israel will continue killing and displacing Palestinians under any conditions, even if they are defenseless. No matter the promises, our people and their resistance must never lay down their weapons. Never.”
According to the ministry, Euro-Med has promoted allegations of “systematic sexual violence” by Israel and called for the country to be added to a U.N. blacklist. The report also said the group has criticized other humanitarian organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The ministry said Euro-Med operates projects aimed at shaping public narratives, including HuMedia, We Are Not Numbers and WikiRights, which trains editors and promotes content initiatives on Wikipedia. It said those efforts include work on entries related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including “Gaza genocide” and “Nakba.” The report noted that Wikipedia entries are edited by a broad range of contributors and are not controlled by the organization alone.
The report identified three main areas of activity: legal efforts before international bodies including the U.N. Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice and U.N. human rights mechanisms; digital and media messaging through international outlets and humanitarian platforms; and long-term activist training through programs including human rights fellowships and summer schools.
Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli criticized The New York Times, saying it was “very troubling to hear that The New York Times, which for years was a symbol of quality journalism, falls again and again victim to the Palestinians’ wholesale lies.”
“The organization the newspaper chose to cite is headed by none other than a Hamas man and terrorist involved in the Gaza Tribunal initiatives, which work to promote international pressure against Israel,” Chikli said.
Avi Cohen-Scali, director-general of the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, said the newspaper had given a platform to “the ideology of a murderous terrorist organization.”
“The report presents the method of operation that feeds lies, ideological ideas and incitement against the State of Israel in an attempt to shape an anti-Israel and antisemitic narrative,” he said.