Netanyahu steps up threats against directors of Gaza documentary 'NAZA'

JERUSALEM, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to pass a law to revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames Israel's soldiers, his latest threat against the Israeli directors of "NAZA", a documentary about soldiers' ​killing of Gaza civilians. 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. Sign up here. The film, which won a major prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, takes its title from an Israeli military term for ​expected "collateral casualties" and is built around anonymous interviews with intelligence officers and soldiers. It has drawn a ​backlash in Israel, with the military examining potential legal action against those involved in ⁠it. But it has also played into the charged political atmosphere ahead of Israel's October 27 ​election, which public opinion polls show Netanyahu's right-wing coalition could lose. 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 "immense damage" done to Israeli soldiers. "The first, to revoke ​the citizenship of anyone who defames (Israeli) soldiers, and the second to hit them in their pockets and ​increase the statutory damages for defamation they can be sued for by 20 times," Netanyahu said in a social media ‌video. Item 1 of 3 Graffiti depicting Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of the documentary film NAZA, and the word "traitors" in Hebrew, on a wall in Ashdod, southern Israel, September 15, 2026. NAZA was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and is built around anonymous interviews with Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers involved in the war in Gaza. REUTERS/Amir Cohen [1/3] Graffiti depicting Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the directors of the documentary film NAZA, and the word "traitors" in Hebrew, on a wall in Ashdod, southern Israel, September 15, 2026. NAZA was... Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more "We ⁠will hit them both in their pockets and in their citizenship, as their place is not with us." Netanyahu cited three incidents in proposing the bills: "the recent film NAZA which portrayed (Israeli) officers and soldiers as war criminals"; 2025 remarks by left-wing ex-general turned politician Yair Golan that "a sane country does not kill children as ​a hobby"; and a military ​legal officer's 2024 leak ⁠of a video showing soldiers abusing a Gaza detainee. Reuters could not immediately reach the NAZA filmmakers for comment. In 2022, Israel's 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. The NAZA filmmakers say they believe it is important that Israelis watch the documentary and grapple with the narrative it presents. Gaza health authorities say more than 73,000 Palestinians, ⁠most of ​them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military campaign that ​has left much of Gaza in ruins. The war was triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people, ​most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Reporting by Lina Obeid and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Daniel Wallis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: Middle East X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights