Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to pass a law to revoke the citizenship of anyone who criticises Israeli soldiers, following domestic outcry over Naza, an Israeli documentary on the Gaza war.
Directed by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the award-winning film examines Israel's targeting practices in Gaza and alleges that mass civilian deaths were routinely factored into decisions over military strikes.
Mr Netanyahu's remarks come after Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar called for the filmmakers to be stripped of their Israeli citizenship, accusing them of “treason against the state”.
On Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu pledged to advance two bills that he said aimed to address the “immense damage” done to Israeli soldiers.
“The first, to revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames 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,” Mr Netanyahu said in a social media video.
“We will hit them both in their pockets and in their citizenship, as their place is not with us,” he added.
Mr Netanyahu cited three incidents for proposing the bills, one of which is Naza, which he said “portrayed officers and soldiers as war criminals”. He also referenced remarks in 2025 by Yair Golan, former deputy chief of the Israeli military who now leads the Democrats party, that “a sane country does not kill children as a hobby”, and a military legal officer's 2024 leak of a video showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Gaza detainee.
Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu accused the makers of Naza of contributing to “global anti-Semitic incitement”.
“It's shocking. We are fighting global anti-Semitic incitement and when it comes from within us it is intolerable,” he said in a video posted on Telegram on Monday. “And now two Israeli directors portraying the [Israeli military] as war criminals receive applause at the Venice [film] festival.”
Naza won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. The 80-minute documentary, examines how Israel selects targets in Gaza, including its use of artificial intelligence. The film draws on clandestine interviews conducted over three years with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers.
The participants, whose identities are concealed, were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, with their faces and voices digitally altered. They describe military operations in which strikes were carried out despite Israel being aware that civilians were present in those areas.
Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said he had ordered a legal investigation to identify the sources featured in the film.
