Netanyahu Pushes Law After Gaza Film
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing legislation that would allow authorities to revoke the citizenship of Israelis accused of defaming the country or its soldiers. He is also proposing a twentyfold increase in statutory damages for defamation.
“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.
“We will hit them both in their pockets and in their citizenship, as their place is not with us”, he added.
Netanyahu was responding primarily to NAZA, a documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The film alleges that Israeli targeting practices in Gaza routinely allowed for large numbers of civilian casualties, claims rejected by the Israeli military.
Based on anonymous interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel, NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. The interviewees allege that Israel used artificial intelligence to identify potential targets while knowing that strikes could kill large numbers of civilians.
The film has sparked a fierce backlash in Israel, and the military is examining possible legal action over the filmmakers’ use of confidential sources. Culture Minister Miki Zohar has separately called for Abraham and Szor to be stripped of their Israeli citizenship, describing the documentary as an “act of treason”.
Netanyahu also cited remarks by left-wing politician Yair Golan, who said in 2025 that “a sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations”.
He also referred to a leaked 2024 video showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee from Gaza.
The controversy has entered the campaign ahead of Israel’s 27 October election, with the proposed legislation becoming another point of dispute over the limits of criticism of the military and the state.
Israel already allows citizenship to be revoked in limited circumstances involving a breach of loyalty to the state. The Supreme Court upheld the principle in 2022, although any attempt to extend it to defamatory speech would likely face legal challenges.
(Reuters, bak)