Israeli minister threatens to revoke filmmakers' citizenship over Gaza documentary

Middle East correspondent, Reporting fromJerusalem.

Key points

• Regarding 1, 200 residents were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack.
• Speaking to Israel's N12 channel, Israeli actor and screenwriter Shlomi Elkabetz remarked: "These are questions that must be examined, not silenced."
• Naza premiered last Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a 25-minute standing ovation, but has not yet been created available to the wider public.
• Other Israeli politicians have criticised the documentary, including former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
• There has been no immediate reaction from Abraham and Szor.

Israel's culture minister has pressed the Oscar-winning Israeli co-directors of Naza, a documentary that accuses the Israeli army of mass civilian killings in Gaza, to be stripped of their citizenship over "treason against the state".

Named for the Hebrew military acronym for collateral damage, the film speaks to 24 unidentified Israeli military and intelligence officers who outlined the AI-powered targeting systems applied by the Israeli army to bombard Gaza in the war triggered by the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023.

Since then, more than 73, 000 Palestinians, including more than 20, 000 children, have been killed in the campaign by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, figures considered reliable by the UN. Regarding 1, 200 residents were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack.

Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor say their 80-minute documentary "details the systems behind Israel's calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza" during the war, according to its official synopsis. One of the individuals interviewed states there was the approval for an attack to kill 500 individuals for "one human target", an allegation the IDF remarked was "completely false".

In a post on X, Culture Minister Miki Zohar remarked he had asked the authorities "to investigate how the materials were obtained, who is behind them, and whether in the process of obtaining or publishing them, actions were taken that amount to aiding the enemy during wartime".

In a letter addressed to Israel's Interior Ministry, he remarked: "The claims presented in the film are false and distorted, and I categorically reject the attempt to portray IDF soldiers and the State of Israel as perpetrators of intentional crimes." Zohar mentioned the country's Citizenship Law, saying it "allows for the revocation of citizenship due to a 'breach of allegiance to the State of Israel'". The measure, nevertheless, has rarely been applied.

There has been no immediate reaction from Abraham and Szor. The filmmakers won an Oscar last year for No Other Land, a documentary regarding violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Naza premiered last Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a 25-minute standing ovation, but has not yet been created available to the wider public. It won a special jury prize at the festival. Speaking then, Abraham remarked the reporting for the film. It was produced by the UK's Guardian newspaper, had been "rigorous" and that efforts to discredit it were "attempts to not face reality".

"It's a war that has principally been killing civilians. And I think our film is showing that this is not some mistake. It's not an accident. It's something particularly, highly systemic. And this should have been apparent to everyone, I think, from the start. But we are showing it from the inside, with insider testimony, " he informed the Associated Press in an interview.

After initially saying it categorically rejects allegations, afterwards issued a new statement via its spokesperson Brig-Gen Effie Defrin, saying: The film 'Naza' has not yet been issued in full, the IDF. Nevertheless, based on what can be seen in promotional material, it presents a series of serious and false allegations regarding the IDF and its personnel.

"To enable a substantive, professional, and fact-based discussion, rather than one based on misleading portrayals, I invite the filmmakers to allow IDF representatives to view the film in full so that we can address each of the allegations it raises on merits."

Other Israeli politicians have criticised the documentary, including former prime minister Naftali Bennett. This person called it a "horrific blood libel against our sons and daughters", and former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, who described the directors as "haters of Israel".

But more than 700 members of the film industry signed a petition in backing of the filmmakers, saying they were being subjected to a "campaign of incitement and vilification". Speaking to Israel's N12 channel, Israeli actor and screenwriter Shlomi Elkabetz remarked: "These are questions that must be examined, not silenced."

For now, israeli minister threatens to revoke filmmakers' citizenship over Gaza documentary remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.