The British newspaper 'The Guardian', co-producer of the documentary 'NAZA' about the military offensive of Israel in the Gaza Strip, has denounced this Monday the "authoritarian response" of the Israeli government to the film, jointly directed by Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
"Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are brave journalists and filmmakers. The attacks against them come from people who have not yet seen the film," the British newspaper pointed out in a statement, in which it defends the work of the team.
The 'Guardian' emphasizes that the film is the result of "more than three years of investigative journalism." "The testimonies it collects are true and we believe they deserve to be heard. The interviews were given by confidential journalistic sources," it added. For this reason, the newspaper stresses that "we will strongly defend 'NAZA' and its team from any attack or attempt at censorship."
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has lashed out this Monday against those responsible for 'NAZA' for their "incitement to anti-Semitic hatred," something he considers "intolerable" coming from Israeli citizens.
For his part, the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir, has gone a step further and indicated that he has ordered the chief military legal advisor to study the feasibility of taking legal action against the creators of the documentary, in addition to analyzing possible leaks of classified material that may have been used in the production of the film.
The documentary 'NAZA' --produced by 'The Guardian'-- competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, where it deeply impacted the audience. After its screening, attendees applauded the directors for almost 25 minutes, the longest applause recorded in the history of the event, and the work won the Special Jury Prize.
In its 80 minutes of footage, 'NAZA' delves into Israel's campaign of systematic attacks on the Palestinian enclave through the accounts of 24 intelligence officers and soldiers, who describe tactics of phone espionage and the use of Artificial Intelligence systems to select targets. According to its directors, this device operates as a large-scale mechanism that deliberately causes the death of hundreds of civilians considered collateral damage in a single offensive.