Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an investigation into the anonymous military sources behind NAZA, an award-winning documentary that alleges Israel's military used artificial intelligence-powered targeting systems in attacks that killed civilians in Gaza.
The film has intensified political tensions in Israel, while its directors face accusations of treason and threats concerning their citizenship.
According to Al Jazeera, Netanyahu urged Israel's military chief, the head of the Shin Bet security service and the attorney general to investigate the filmmakers' sources and pursue legal action over alleged security violations, defamation and damage to national interests.
The documentary draws on testimony from 24 unnamed Israeli military personnel.
In a statement published on X on Saturday evening, Netanyahu demanded action against those involved in producing the film.
"I demand that the chief of general staff, the head of the Shin Bet, and the attorney general launch a comprehensive investigation into the participants in the film 'Naza' and prosecute them for serious information security violations, criminal libel, and harm to Israel's diplomatic and security interests," Netanyahu said.
He also challenged the documentary's portrayal of the Israeli military and its operations.
"The film presents a false, misleading, and biased narrative that defames the State of Israel and the [Israeli military] internationally, severely damaging Israel's standing," Netanyahu added.
The Israeli military rejected the whistleblowers' allegations in a statement last month, describing some claims as "absurd" and contradictory.
It maintained that human personnel alone make decisions about selecting and approving military strikes, in accordance with its operational guidelines.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has ordered an investigation into suspected leaks of classified military information used in the film's production.
He has also called for consideration of legal action against the participants, according to Al Jazeera.
NAZA takes its name from an Israeli military term referring to anticipated civilian casualties from airstrikes.
The documentary received a special jury prize at the Venice International Film Festival and a 25-minute standing ovation, according to Al Jazeera.
Its directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, have faced accusations of treason from Israeli political figures.
Netanyahu and Culture Minister Miki Zohar have threatened to revoke their Israeli citizenship, Al Jazeera reported.
Meanwhile, 43 Israeli rights organizations have defended the filmmakers and condemned the threats, according to Israel's Channel 12 news.
UK producer James Wilson, who worked on NAZA alongside The Guardian, defended Abraham and Szor during a discussion at the BFI London Film Festival industry forum last week.
He said the response to the documentary had been overwhelmingly positive from his perspective, while much of the criticism came from people who had not watched it.
Wilson described the filmmakers' experience amid the political backlash.
"In terms of the hysterical, vituperative, aggressive backlash from members of the Israeli government, Israeli politicians, threats to the directors, legal threats, threats to revoke their citizenship, two young filmmakers who are Israeli Jewish filmmakers made a film in which, in researching the film along with the Guardian journalistic team, spoke to many, many Israeli officers and soldiers, about 100 sources," Wilson said.
Wilson said the filmmakers had consulted around 100 people during their research, including the 24 Israeli officers and soldiers whose testimony appears in the documentary.
He also noted that a petition supporting Abraham and Szor had collected signatures from more than 1,500 Israeli filmmakers, according to Screen Daily.
Describing the personal consequences of the backlash, Wilson said the accusations and threats had made the experience difficult for the directors.
"But they are okay. They are safe… I think the reaction is part of the film," Wilson said.
Wilson also rejected the idea that filmmaking and political engagement should be treated as separate activities.
His previous producing credits include Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, which won major awards, and Under the Skin, as well as works by Lynne Ramsay and Kaouther Ben Hania.
Discussing the relationship between art and politics, Wilson said he found the recurring debate frustrating.
"I get so bored by debates about politics and 'is art part of it?'
I can't believe that 50 years after feminism taught us that the personal is political, we can even bother to have debates about that," Wilson said.
NAZA has also attracted theatrical audiences beyond Israel.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that the documentary generated more than $500,000 without a distributor and expanded to 30 cities during its second weekend.
In Italy, distributor I Wonder opened the film at number one at the local box office in late September, according to Screen Daily.
Dogwoof is releasing the documentary theatrically in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while the filmmakers plan to distribute it themselves in the United States, Screen Daily reported.
The controversy unfolds against the wider devastation of the Gaza war.
According to figures cited by Al Jazeera from Gaza's Ministry of Health, at least 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children, have been killed since Israel's military campaign began on October 7, 2023, following attacks on southern Israel by Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other Palestinian groups.
