Ankara: Israel's Culture Minister Miki Zohar has announced plans to revoke the Israeli citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor following the success of their documentary, NAZA, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

According to Anadolu Agency, the minister expressed his disapproval through a post on the social media platform X, labeling the film's victory as 'shocking' and the documentary itself as 'vile.' Zohar accused the filmmakers of damaging Israel's international reputation to garner applause from foreign audiences, suggesting their actions equate to treason against the state.

Zohar further explained his motivation for advocating a cinema reform to prevent Israeli citizens from financially supporting projects perceived as harmful to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the state. He emphasized his intention to act swiftly in revoking the citizenship of Abraham and Szor, whom he referred to as "despicable creators."

The Venice Film Festival's official synopsis of NAZA describes the documentary as an exploration of the mechanisms behind what it calls Israel's 'calculated mass killing' of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The film includes testimonies from Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers. NAZA was awarded the Special Jury Prize and received a 25-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere.