Introduction

A July 2024 ruling by an Israeli court on a defamation lawsuit involving a B’Tselem report, highlights the flawed methodology of the organization and the wider problem of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) disseminating distorted or false information. An examination of this episode reveals how B’Tselem’s claims are uncritically accepted and insufficiently scrutinized by foreign governments, the UN and other international agencies, academics, and media.

The incident – involving a confrontation between Palestinian youth and Israeli civilians in the West Bank – was initially described, without fact-checking, by Gideon Levy in Haaretz, based on hearsay provided by a B’Tselem field researcher. Subsequently, the allegations were repeated in a B’Tselem report. As seen below, the claims then appeared in major media platforms around the world, posts from human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International, and British MPs, and in a report by the UN Secretary-General.

After assessing the evidence, the court determined that the alleged kidnapping and abuse of a Palestinian youth by Israeli civilians “did not occur” as described by the NGO and subsequent reports based on it.

Court documents disclosed disturbing details about B’Tselem’s fact-finding methodology – or, more accurately, its absence: According to the testimony of a B’Tselem field researcher (court document on file with NGO Monitor), who has worked for the organization for 20 years, the NGO operates under a protocol whereby Palestinian accounts are not independently verified beyond a visit to the scene of the alleged incident and discussions with to additional “eyewitnesses” (who may or may not have actually witnessed the incident). In the episode at the center of the defamation case, the facts as published by B’Tselem were refuted by details in the victim’s medical files and contemporaneous IDF reports. 

In this regard, B’Tselem is not unique. Most NGOs and UN agencies that claim to perform fact-finding within the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict operate similarly, basing their publications on hearsay and second-hand accounts, without verifying the allegations. (Even if they wanted to, NGOs lack the tools, expertise, and access to do so.)

By examining the events and details in this case, the wider problems associated with NGO claims of fact-finding and reporting, particularly in conflicts involving Israel, can be understood and applied to other examples.  

Event Timeline 

  • As described in court documents (on file with NGO Monitor), On August 17, 2021, a confrontation occurred between Palestinian youth and Israeli civilians in the area that was once the settlement of Homesh, the details of which are disputed.
  • According to the Israelis, a group of Palestinian youth entered the area, wielding sticks, throwing stones, and shouting “Allahu Akbar.” As the Israelis attempted to drive them away, one of the Palestinians stumbled and fell. The settlers restrained him, blindfolded him with a shirt, and later handed him over to security forces.
  • On the day of the incident, B’Tselem researcher Abdulkarim Sadi went to the hospital and later to the home of the teen, Tareq Zubeidi, and recorded his version of events. He claimed he was nearby having a picnic with other boys when a group of settlers chased them, caught him, and subjected him to a series of abuses (detailed below).
  • Several days later, the B’Tselem researcher acted as a translator for Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy, when the latter met with Zubeidi and his family. Levy and Alex Levac published an article in Haaretz’s English edition on August 26, 2021.
  • On October 7, 2021, B’Tselem published a report on the incident, based on documentation by Sadi. According to the teen, while he and his friends were near the Homesh settlement having a picnic, several Israelis approached them. His friends fled, but he did not have time to escape, and from that moment, the Israelis allegedly committed a series of serious abuses against him. As described in the B’Tselem report: “the settlers got out of the car and began beating him with wooden sticks. They then bound Tareq’s hands and feet and tied him to the hood of the car with metal chains… They drove towards the area once occupied by the settlement of Homesh. One of the settlers pepper-sprayed Tareq in the face, and another settler covered his eyes with a piece of cloth. The settlers then hung him with ropes on tree branches, with his feet in the air, and wounded and burned his feet. After a few minutes, the settlers took him down from the tree, and then one of them hit him in the head with a stick, causing Tareq to lose consciousness. At this point, a military jeep drove up, and the settlers handed Tareq over to the soldiers, claiming that he had thrown stones at them. The soldiers put the unconscious Tareq in the jeep and lay him down on its floor.”.

Court Ruling – The B’Tselem Description Was Not Truthful 

  • On January 18, 2022. a group of Israelis filed a defamation lawsuit against Gideon Levy for statements against the “Homesh settlers” involved in the “abuse incident.” 
  • During the hearings, Levy attached the B’Tselem report as an exhibit, as well as an affidavit from Abdulkarim Sadi. (court document on file with NGO Monitor)
  • On July 4, 2024, the Bat Yam Magistrates Court ruled that “the evidence in the case did not prove that the incident occurred as described …” (para 45) and “the defendant did not meet the burden of proof to substantiate the claim regarding the incident in which a Palestinian youth was allegedly hanged and his feet burned…” (paragraph 44 of the court decision ) 
  • The judge added that “the evidence presented in the case does not support the defendant’s version as described in his publication. The medical documents (which do not prove a burn on the youth’s foot), the photo in the military jeep, and the IDF operation log do not support the description of the event as recounted by the defendant.” (para 47)
  • In the verdict, the court found that “the defendant did not meet the burden of proof required to prove the truthfulness of his claims, and the evidence in the case supports the plaintiffs’ claim that the incident as described by the defendant did not occur.” (para 49, emphasis added)

B’Tselem’s Role in the False Report

  • Regarding B’Tselem’s report, the court noted: “The findings claimed to have been mentioned there [in the B’Tselem report and the article] also raise questions – both regarding their consistency with the medical documents (which do not indicate burns or what was described in the article), their consistency with the photo of the youth in the military jeep (which does not match the claimed condition), and the IDF operation log (which also does not match the claim)…”. (para 59, emphasis added)
  • Despite the evidence that did not align with the testimonies and B’Tselem’s report, the teen did not testify. The judge noted in the verdict: “… it suffices to mention that the youth was not brought to testify, without sufficient reason given. The witnesses for the defense… testified hearsay about what the youth told them.” (para 46) 
  • The judge asked the B’Tselem researcher: “Did you ask a medical expert if these injuries match the story? Do you know if these injuries match?” The interpreter for Sadi replied: “He says ‘I did not ask doctors.'”(court document on file with NGO Monitor)
  • Sadi further described his work: “I’ve been with B’Tselem for 20 years… we have a protocol… we listen to the whole case,… then we go to the place, see with our own eyes, and listen to what they tell us… we listen to other eyewitnesses.”(court document on file with NGO Monitor)

Coverage in Israel and Worldwide

  • On August 26, 2021, a comprehensive article was published in the Haaretz English edition, written by Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, describing the alleged abuse . The article presents as facts that the Palestinian was tied to a tree, beaten with a metal rod, pepper-sprayed, burned on the foot, and beaten with a stick until losing consciousness. 
  • On October 7, 2021, B’Tselem published a report – “Running over, tying to moving car, hanging on tree, pepper-spraying, kicking, burning feet: Settlers abduct 15-year-old and abuse him until he loses consciousness.”

International Media

  • On September 10, 2021, an article was published by Al Jazeera in English describing the  incident as it was reported in Haaretz. According to the Al Jazeera article: “The UN envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, raised the Zubeidi case at a Security Council meeting last month, describing the incident as a ‘despicable act’ and called on Israeli authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
  • On the same day, numerous articles were published, including by the world’s largest news agency, AP, and in The Independent, which was cited by the American organization JStreet, and in media across the Muslim world from Lebanon to Indonesia.
  • The Palestinian Authority’s news agency published an article in October that quoted from B’Tselem’s report, claiming that “The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem detailed the horrific story of a Palestinian youth who was kidnapped and tortured by a group of Israeli settlers in the Jenin district of the occupied West Bank, months ago.”
  • Subsequently, more articles quoting the B’Tselem report were published in anti-Israel propaganda platforms such as Middle East Monitor, Palestine Chronicle, Mondoweiss, The Palestinian Information Center, as well as on other sites such as CBC Canada.

UN

  • On September 29, 2021, at a UN Security Council hearing, British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said they “condemn any incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians…” and they “express particular concern about the reported attack on 15-year-old Palestinian Tareq Zubeidi on the 17 August.”
  • Every year,  the UN Secretary-General publishes a report on “Children and Armed Conflict” (CAAC), which surveys instances of “grave violations” of children’s rights around the world. Referring to the incident as described by B’Tselem, the 2023 Secretary General’s CAAC report stated: “The United Nations verified the abduction of one Palestinian boy by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, during which the child was subjected to severe violence. The child was released after two hours” (emphasis added).

UK

On November 2, 2021, a Question for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was published in the House of Lords in the British Parliament: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the reported kidnap and torture of Tareq Zbeidi by Israeli settlers” (Baroness Janke). In a written response, the British government stated: “We condemn any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. The UK regularly raises the issue of settler violence with the Government of Israel, most recently with Israel’s Ministry of Defence on 19 October.”

Amnesty International

Amnesty International Annual Report 2021/2022: “The State of the World’s Human Rights” mentioned the incident. In the chapter on “Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, under the “Settler Violence” heading, the only example given in the report of settler violence is the  incident “according to his testimony to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem “