Netanyahu Proposes Stripping Citizenship of Soldiers' Critics
Israel's prime minister vows to introduce bills revoking citizenship and raising defamation damages for those he says defame the IDF, after a Venice award-winning documentary accused the military of using AI to target Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans to introduce legislation that would revoke the citizenship of anyone found guilty of defaming Israeli soldiers, alongside a second bill sharply increasing the damages such critics can be sued for. The proposal, made in a video address, marks an escalation in the government's response to mounting international criticism of the military's conduct in Gaza.
Netanyahu said the two bills were intended to punish those causing «immense damage» to the Israel Defense Forces. The first would strip citizenship from anyone who defames soldiers; the second would raise statutory damages for defamation by a factor of twenty. «Hit them both in the pocket and through their citizenship, because they have no place among us,» he said, according to the Israeli outlet Ynet.
The announcement followed the release of the documentary NAZA, which alleges that the Israeli military and intelligence services used AI-assisted systems to select targets in Gaza and treated potential civilian deaths as acceptable collateral damage. The film, by Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 10 and won the Special Jury Prize.
In his address, Netanyahu named Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats and a former IDF deputy chief of staff, who said last year that Israeli troops «kill babies as a hobby.» He also referred to Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who was removed as the IDF's chief military advocate after admitting she authorized the leaking of a video allegedly showing the abuse of a Palestinian detainee at an Israeli detention facility.
The filmmakers stood by their investigation, which they said was based on interviews with Israeli service members. «It's important as Israelis that we recognize what our government has done in Gaza,» Abraham said.
The documentary's allegations add to a growing body of international criticism. Multiple countries, the United Nations and human rights groups have accused Israel of indiscriminately killing civilians. Nearly 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023, following a surprise Hamas attack on Israel.
The International Criminal Court has outstanding arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Court of Justice, a separate institution, is hearing a genocide case brought against Israel over its conduct in Gaza.
Israel denies the allegations, while acknowledging some civilian killings as isolated violations of IDF protocols. It accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields, and Israeli officials have accused UN agencies of aiding Hamas and argued that the group counts its killed fighters among civilian casualties.
The proposed citizenship and defamation bills, if passed, would represent a significant expansion of Israeli law targeting speech deemed harmful to the military. Netanyahu's coalition has previously advanced measures aimed at curbing criticism of state institutions, but the citizenship provision would be an unusually severe penalty for defamation. The bills would need to pass the Knesset, where the government holds a majority, before becoming law.
The timing of the announcement, coming days after the Venice award and amid ongoing international legal proceedings, suggests the government is seeking to counter a narrative it views as damaging to the military's reputation. Whether the legislation will deter critics or further galvanize opposition remains to be seen.
