Netanyahu seeks criminal charges for NAZA participants
Middle East Eye
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Middle East Eye
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded criminal investigations into participants in the documentary NAZA, accusing them of serious security offenses and classified information leaks. Palestinian analysts argue Netanyahu's move ironically validates the film's exposé on AI systems used in civilian killings in Gaza.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked top officials to open an investigation into the participants of the documentary film NAZA, his office announced on Sunday.
According to the statement, the Israeli premier asked the army chief Eyal Zamir, the Shin Bet chief, David Zini, and the attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara "to act urgently to uncover the identity of all those who are involved or appear” in what he called “the libel film”.
In his letter to the three officials, Netanyahu urged them to open a criminal investigation and pursue prosecution on grounds of “serious information security offenses, criminal defamation, and harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests”.
The letter claims the film spreads “false, misleading and programmatic libel” against Israel and its army, causing “severe harm to Israel’s global standing”.
Netanyahu also warned that those involved may have “committed serious criminal offenses of exposing top-secret information and created a breach in the information security of a highly sensitive intelligence unit”, referring to the elite army unit 8200.
NAZA, directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, examines the AI-powered systems behind Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The documentary features interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders, whose identities remain anonymous.
Muhammad Shehada, a Palestinian political analyst, argued on X that "Netanyahu accidentally confirms NAZA's exposé", noting that while officials previously dismissed the film as a “hoax”, the Israeli premier is now saying NAZA revealed classified information.
As Netanyahu seeks a sixth term ahead of the 27 October elections and polls show him trailing former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli PM has made NAZA a prominent target in his re-election campaign, repeatedly attacking the documentary.
On Sunday, Israeli media reported that leaked WhatsApp messages from his closest adviser Yonatan Urich suggested that right-wing Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal advised his campaign to leverage the NAZA controversy.
Wider attacks
Since the film won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival last month, Israeli politicians, journalists, social media users and far-right protesters have attacked the film's creators, accusing them of treason.
Last month, Israeli army chief Zamir instructed military officials to seek legal actions against the filmmakers and the soldiers who testified in it.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military released a 17-page response to the film, stating it "falsely portrays a military that seeks to cause civilian harm".
Netanyahu and Culture Minister Miki Zohar also asked for the revocation of the Israeli citizenships of Abraham and Szor, with Zohar urging Shin Bet chief Zini last week to investigate Abraham's alleged connections to Hamas.
Szor told The Guardian podcast Stateside that the violent Israeli backlash against the film is "scary".
Last month, far-right demonstrators gathered outside her parents’s home in central Israel, calling for her and Abraham to be hanged for treason.
"We made this film so people would talk about it, and we also received support from a small part of Israeli society that opposes Israel's policies over the years," Szor said.
According to the statement, the Israeli premier asked the army chief Eyal Zamir, the Shin Bet chief, David Zini, and the attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara "to act urgently to uncover the identity of all those who are involved or appear” in what he called “the libel film”.
In his letter to the three officials, Netanyahu urged them to open a criminal investigation and pursue prosecution on grounds of “serious information security offenses, criminal defamation, and harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests”.
The letter claims the film spreads “false, misleading and programmatic libel” against Israel and its army, causing “severe harm to Israel’s global standing”.
Netanyahu also warned that those involved may have “committed serious criminal offenses of exposing top-secret information and created a breach in the information security of a highly sensitive intelligence unit”, referring to the elite army unit 8200.
NAZA, directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, examines the AI-powered systems behind Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The documentary features interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders, whose identities remain anonymous.
Muhammad Shehada, a Palestinian political analyst, argued on X that "Netanyahu accidentally confirms NAZA's exposé", noting that while officials previously dismissed the film as a “hoax”, the Israeli premier is now saying NAZA revealed classified information.
As Netanyahu seeks a sixth term ahead of the 27 October elections and polls show him trailing former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli PM has made NAZA a prominent target in his re-election campaign, repeatedly attacking the documentary.
On Sunday, Israeli media reported that leaked WhatsApp messages from his closest adviser Yonatan Urich suggested that right-wing Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal advised his campaign to leverage the NAZA controversy.
Wider attacks
Since the film won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival last month, Israeli politicians, journalists, social media users and far-right protesters have attacked the film's creators, accusing them of treason.
Last month, Israeli army chief Zamir instructed military officials to seek legal actions against the filmmakers and the soldiers who testified in it.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military released a 17-page response to the film, stating it "falsely portrays a military that seeks to cause civilian harm".
Netanyahu and Culture Minister Miki Zohar also asked for the revocation of the Israeli citizenships of Abraham and Szor, with Zohar urging Shin Bet chief Zini last week to investigate Abraham's alleged connections to Hamas.
Szor told The Guardian podcast Stateside that the violent Israeli backlash against the film is "scary".
Last month, far-right demonstrators gathered outside her parents’s home in central Israel, calling for her and Abraham to be hanged for treason.
"We made this film so people would talk about it, and we also received support from a small part of Israeli society that opposes Israel's policies over the years," Szor said.
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Source: Middle East Eye
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