"NAZA": Israeli military issues statement on film
1 hour ago
When it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in mid-September, "NAZA" received a 25-minute-long standing ovation and the Special Jury Prize. But in Israel , the documentary has fueled heated debate.
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar described the work of filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham "treason against the state" and urged that their citizenship be revoked. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also sharply criticized the documentary.
Now the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has also rejected the film's allegations about its conduct during the war in Gaza. In a multi-page document , the military accuses the filmmakers of presenting a "distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture." The film, it says, is based on "substantial factual errors" resulting from "manipulative misrepresentations of reality."
The 80-minute documentary examines the Israel Defense Forces' operations during the war in Gaza . It is based on interviews conducted with 24 anonymous military and intelligence personnel, who describe internal procedures and decision-making processes involved in selecting targets in the Gaza Strip . According to the interviewees, high civilian casualty estimates were, in some cases, deliberately factored into these decisions.
Copyright for this text belongs to Deutsche Welle.