Key facts
- Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the identification and prosecution of soldiers and officers interviewed in the documentary "NAZA."
- The documentary "NAZA" details Israel's mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
- Netanyahu stated the interviews caused "harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests."
- The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
- The Israeli government has previously threatened to strip the film's directors of their citizenship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the country's attorney general, the head of the Shin Bet security service, and the IDF chief of staff to identify and prosecute individuals interviewed in the documentary "NAZA." The film, which details Israel's alleged mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, is set to be screened in over 50 countries.
Netanyahu stated that the interviews caused "harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests" and demanded "the opening of a criminal investigation and prosecution for serious information security offences, criminal defamation, and harming Israel’s diplomatic and security interests." The documentary, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The Israeli government has previously attacked the filmmakers, threatening to revoke their citizenship.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir denounced the film as an "attack on the state of Israel" and accused it of spreading "lies and blood libels." The military advocate general, Itai Ofir, noted that criminal prosecution would require evidence of security violations or disclosure of classified material, though disciplinary measures are still possible.
Ricardo Gutiérrez, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, called the threats "a blatant act of intimidation against journalists." A spokesperson for The Guardian, which produced the documentary, stated that these moves are "attempts to distract from the urgent questions the film asks about the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza."