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JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday \u200cto pass a law to revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames Israel\u2019s soldiers, his latest threat against the Israeli directors of \u201cNAZA,\u201d a documentary about soldiers\u2019 killing of Gaza \u200bcivilians.<\/p>\n
Directed by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, NAZA alleges that mass civilian deaths were routinely built into Israeli targeting decisions in Gaza, something Netanyahu and the military reject.<\/p>\n
The film, which won a major prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, takes its title from an Israeli military term for expected \u201ccollateral casualties\u201d and is built around anonymous interviews with intelligence officers and soldiers.<\/p>\n
It has drawn a backlash in Israel, with \u200cthe military examining potential \u200clegal action against those involved in it. But \u200bit \u200chas \u2060also \u200bplayed into \u2060the charged political atmosphere ahead of Israel\u2019s October 27 election, which public opinion polls show Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing coalition could lose.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Netanyahu accused some of his election rivals of failing to take a tough stand against the documentary, saying this made them unfit for office. And on Wednesday, he pledged to advance two bills that he said aimed at addressing the \u201cimmense damage\u201d done to \u2060Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first, to revoke the citizenship of anyone \u200cwho defames (Israeli) soldiers, and the second \u200cto hit them in their pockets and increase \u200bthe statutory damages for defamation they \u200ccan be sued for by 20 times,\u201d Netanyahu said in a social \u200cmedia video.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will hit them both in their pockets and in their citizenship, as their place is not with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu cited three incidents in proposing the bills: \u201cthe recent film NAZA which portrayed (Israeli) officers and soldiers as war criminals\u201c; 2025 remarks \u200cby left-wing ex-general turned politician Yair Golan that \u201ca sane country does not kill children as a hobby\u201c; and a \u2060military legal officer\u2019s \u20602024 leak of a video showing soldiers abusing a Gaza detainee.<\/p>\n
Reuters could not immediately reach the NAZA filmmakers for comment.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Israel\u2019s Supreme Court upheld a law that permits stripping citizenship from Israelis who carry out actions that constitute a breach of trust against the state. Any new legislation would likely face similar court challenges.<\/p>\n
The NAZA filmmakers say they believe it is important that Israelis watch the documentary and grapple with the narrative it presents.<\/p>\n
Gaza health authorities say more than 73,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel\u2019s military campaign that has left much of \u200bGaza in ruins.<\/p>\n
The war was \u200btriggered by Hamas\u2019 October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n