IDF officials have approached the Shin Bet domestic security service seeking assistance with an investigation into the documentary NAZA, which has generated international controversy over allegations concerning Israeli military conduct in Gaza.
The Shin Bet is not currently involved in the investigation, however, and officials in the agency told the military that they are waiting for a formal request before intervening. Such a request is expected only after a decision by the IDF’s Military Advocate General, in coordination with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
(Photo: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
The approach to the Shin Bet follows a series of steps ordered Monday by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in response to the film.
Zamir instructed the Military Advocate General to examine and advance possible legal measures concerning the documentary and those involved in it, as well as information-security issues and the possibility that classified material was leaked and used in the production.
A multidisciplinary, interagency team led by the head of the IDF Planning Directorate has also been established to formulate possible responses to the allegations raised in the film.
A central focus of the review is Unit 8200, the IDF’s signals intelligence unit, whose activities form a significant part of the documentary.
“NAZA,” produced in cooperation with British newspaper The Guardian, features testimony from 24 soldiers said to have served in the unit and addresses IDF operations during the war in Gaza.
The film raises serious allegations concerning Israel’s policies on collateral damage, strikes and targeted killings, as well as the military’s use of artificial intelligence.
The IDF has rejected the allegations, saying some of the claims are false, distorted and disconnected from reality. The military’s review is also examining whether classified information may have been disclosed to the filmmakers or incorporated into the documentary.
The investigation is proceeding even though Israeli officials have yet to obtain a complete copy of the film.
Israel’s embassy in Rome warned about the documentary’s participation in the Venice Film Festival roughly a month before its screening, and efforts were made to prevent the screening or provide a counterweight to it, without success.
The IDF was exposed to the film’s main contents only after the embassy’s cultural representative watched it and submitted a report detailing its claims.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit later contacted filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and asked them to provide the military with a full copy so it could respond to the allegations.
The possible involvement of the Shin Bet would broaden an inquiry that currently spans legal, intelligence and information-security issues, but any formal role for the agency remains dependent on the legal review now underway.
First published: 20:11, 09.15.26