Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, has demanded that the Israeli citizenship of directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor be revoked after they made NAZA, a documentary that scrutinises the military's handling of strikes in Gaza. Zohar publicly accused the Oscar-winning filmmakers of committing "treason against the state" for producing the film.
NAZA, produced by The Guardian, examines the mass killing of civilians in Gaza and takes its name from an acronym reportedly used by Israel's intelligence services to indicate how many civilians they expect to die in a particular airstrike. The film has drawn international attention for its portrayal of civilian harm during Israeli operations.
The directors have said the film was intended to document and criticise civilian casualties; in promotional comments they have described the awareness among military planners that targeted houses often contained children. Those statements and the documentary's content appear to have prompted the minister's proposal to pursue citizenship revocation.
The dispute highlights a tense debate in Israel over national security, freedom of expression and the limits of public criticism during wartime. The minister's call is likely to further polarise opinion domestically and to draw international scrutiny given the filmmakers' prominence and the involvement of an international news organisation in producing the documentary.