Netanyahu Orders Identification and Prosecution of Soldiers and Officers in Documentary 'Naza'

Israel's prime minister called for criminal investigations into soldiers and officers who were interviewed in an investigative documentary produced by The Guardian.

Israel's prime minister has called for a criminal investigation into soldiers and officers interviewed in an investigative documentary produced by The Guardian.

According to Ambassador Arjan, quoted by the Guardian, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the country's attorney general and the head of Israel's internal security organization (Shabak) to reveal the identities of the soldiers and officers who appeared in the investigative documentary "Naza" and to prosecute them for causing "damage to Israel's diplomatic and security interests".

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Zor and produced by The Guardian, this acclaimed documentary examines Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza. This film has been screened in cinemas of different countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, and is scheduled to be shown in more than 50 countries.

In a letter addressed to Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharomiara, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Major General Eyal Zamir, and Shabak Chief David Zini, Netanyahu asked them to "immediately take action to discover the identity of all the people who participated in or are present in this defamatory film."

The Prime Minister of Israel has also called for the "initiation of criminal investigation and prosecution for serious violations in the field of information security, defamation of a criminal nature and harming Israel's diplomatic and security interests."

The documentary "Barren" was shown for the first time at the Venice International Film Festival last month, and after receiving the longest standing ovation in the history of the event, it won the special prize of the jury. The film's title is taken from a keyword used by the Israeli intelligence service in a veiled way to specify the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike.

Yuval Abraham and Rachel Zor, the directors of the documentary "Barren", received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival last month. Photo: Capital Pictures/Alamy.

The Israeli government has organized strong attacks against Abraham and Zor and accused them of treason. Government officials have even threatened to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these two filmmakers. The supporters of the government have also promised to pressure and harass the filmmakers after they return to Israel. A group of protesters also gathered in front of Zor's parents' house in Savyon and chanted "death sentence for traitors".

Eyal Zamir called this film "an attack on the Israeli government" and accused it of spreading "lies and bloody accusations". He had previously ordered the military and legal authorities to identify the soldiers in the documentary and investigate the possibility of legal action against them.

However, Israel's military attorney general, Itai Ophir, has stated that criminal prosecution requires evidence of a breach of security regulations or the disclosure of classified information; However, disciplinary measures will still be possible.

The protection of journalistic sources is one of the main pillars of freedom of the press within the framework of international human rights standards, and the order to disclose the identity of sources is allowed only under strict conditions.

Ricardo Gutiérrez, the Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists, which represents more than 320,000 journalists, said: "These threats are a clear attempt to intimidate journalists who have only done their duty and, along the way, have carefully observed the principles of professional ethics and public interest. I am not surprised by this sharp reaction; A reaction that confirms that this government is willing to do anything to hide its crimes against humanity and the ongoing genocide in Gaza."

The spokesman of the Guardian newspaper also said: "After first threatening to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the directors of Naza, the Israeli government has now demanded an investigation into their journalistic sources." These actions are all an attempt to divert attention from the immediate questions that the film raises about the mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. "Journalists should be able to pursue public interest investigations without threats or harassment."

After the documentary "Barren" received the special prize of the jury of the Venice Film Festival, on a wall in the southern city of Ashdod in Israel, paintings of Abraham and Zor with the word "traitors" in Hebrew and in red were painted on their images. Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters.

The documentary "Barren" is based on revelations that were first published between 2023 and 2025 in the Israeli-Palestinian publication "972+", the Hebrew-language media "Local Call" and the Guardian newspaper.

The spokesperson of the Guardian said earlier this month: "The process of evaluating the credibility of the testimonies has been carried out carefully and rigorously. This process involved reviewing declassified documents, verifying details of specific attacks, and matching the information with a broader set of confidential journalistic sources that did not appear on camera."

According to the Guardian's spokesperson, the documentary team has interviewed "more than 100 sources familiar with the mechanisms of the Israeli army in the Gaza war, including senior commanders directly involved in authorizing the attacks" over the past three years.

In recent days, the Israeli government has sponsored an online video project that mimics the documentary style of "Barren" and aims to challenge the findings of the original film. Ariel Averbuch, an Israeli lawyer and army reservist who created a project called Naza: The True Story, described the move as an "aggressive move" aimed at diverting the world's attention from allegations of civilian killings by the Israeli military.

Prominent figures in the film industry around the world, including the directors of the Locarno Film Festival, have expressed their solidarity with Abraham and Zor. They have said that they firmly support the right of filmmakers to address difficult and urgent issues without fear of retaliatory measures.