Benjamin Netanyahu defends IDF against international war crime allegations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned international criticism directed at Israel and its military regarding the war in the Gaza Strip. Describing the accusations as a ‘false and absurd international attack,’ Netanyahu defended the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), asserting that the military maintains the highest ethical standards and is being unfairly portrayed abroad as a perpetrator of war crimes.

These remarks follow the controversy surrounding the documentary film ‘Naza,’ which recently received the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film features testimonies from 24 soldiers of Unit 8200, the military intelligence unit, whose identities have been digitally obscured for safety. The documentary examines the use of artificial intelligence and surveillance in targeting, as well as military protocols regarding ‘collateral damage’—referred to by the term ‘Naza’ in military intelligence.

Netanyahu made these statements during a ceremony in Lower Galilee to lay the foundation stone for a memorial dedicated to Christian Arabs who served in the IDF. He argued that Israel is being falsely accused of persecuting minorities and characterized the global scrutiny as an attempt to delegitimize the state.