Francesca Albanese defends NYT report on Palestinian abuse

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has fiercely criticized Israel’s Foreign Ministry after the government labeled a New York Times article detailing the sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees as "hideous and distorted lies" and announced a defamation lawsuit against the publication.

In a statement posted on X, Albanese defended the investigative piece, describing it as "accurate but barely scratching the surface." She argued that the report has triggered panic within the Israeli government not because the reporting is inaccurate, but because of the specific demographic reading it, writing, "Apartheid Israel fears NYT readers will finally see and no longer ignore,", News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera

To support her stance, the UN independent expert published a comprehensive 22-post thread highlighting numerous independent reports and past investigations that have documented sexual violence within Israel’s detention system.

Albanese noted that while recent mainstream media investigations primarily focus on abuses recorded since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, the underlying systemic issue is decades old. She stated that sexual violence targeting Palestinians has been documented since the very inception of the Israeli state, adding that this is a historical context "nothing the NYT spoke about – so far."

The public dispute underscores the intensifying international scrutiny over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the Israeli government's growing legal aggression toward major Western media outlets covering the conflict.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada