IDF legal chief says soldiers required to act against nationalist violence in Judea & Samaria, blasts NAZA film as ‘disconnected from reality’

The IDF Military Advocate General, Major General Itai Ofir, addressed the controversy over the recent documentary film NAZA at a conference of the IJL (International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists) on Tuesday, saying the film is “disconnected from reality.”

Maj. Gen. Ofir spoke of the IDF’s legal philosophy, which he said has to take into account that Israel’s enemies have attempted to use international law against the military.

“After three years of war across seven fronts, I would like to share with you the IDF’s legal philosophy,” Ofir told the conference, “as well as what happens within the military when things do not go as planned in this regard.”

Ofir emphasized that “October 7th did not alter the IDF’s commitment to the law.”

Telling the conference that he “had not planned to take on this role,” Maj. Gen. Ofir said that when offered the position, “I felt a duty to step up.”

He said that the Israeli military operates “in accordance with the law.”

“I am bound by the law, as is the entire unit,” Ofir stated. “The military is committed to acting in accordance with the law, and it does so even when striking targets in the vicinity of civilian sites.”

He also noted that “Hamas is as familiar with the law as we are, yet they draw entirely opposite conclusions.”

“I am not a historian, but I believe that the modern history of warfare has never seen anything as complex as Hamas’s tunnel network.”

Addressing the NAZA documentary, Ofir said there is a stark difference between what the film claims and the behavior of the IDF in practice.

“The film accuses the IDF of authorizing strikes in which hundreds of civilians were expected to be killed, out of indifference to their lives or even with the intention of harming them,” Maj. Gen. Ofir said. “But my officers are involved in the process of validating targets and drafting IDF orders, so I can say that this description is disconnected from reality.”

Ofir said the film “distorts the meaning of the very term from which it takes its name.”

NAZA is a Hebrew acronym for “Nezek Agavi,” which means “collateral damage.”

“A collateral damage assessment is intended to estimate the expected harm to civilians. Its entire purpose is to prevent that harm, or at the very least minimize it as much as possible under the circumstances,” Ofir noted.

He said that “collateral damage assessments are a fundamental tool used by law-abiding militaries around the world.”

“The film takes this protective mechanism and portrays it as an expression of indifference,” Ofir noted, adding that, “An indifferent army would not count. It would simply strike.”

“The film claims that we killed thousands of innocent residents,” he continued. “As an officer involved in the decision-making process, I can state that this is far from the reality.”

He noted that the IDF has already issued “a clear and detailed response to the film, addressing each claim point by point.”

He also noted that the IDF defined its war goals in the days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and before the entry of Israeli troops into the Gaza Strip.

Those goals were: dismantling Hamas' military and governing capabilities while creating the conditions to bring back the hostages.

“Harming Gaza's civilian population was never an objective of the war,” Ofir stated. “On the contrary, countless directives, orders and actions were intended to protect them as much as possible, while Hamas deliberately positioned its weapons and conducted military operations among the civilian population, showing utter disregard for their lives. My officers helped draft many of those directives, which distinguish between Hamas and the civilian population.”

The chief legal expert for the IDF noted that his office is responsible for investigating claims of war crimes or inappropriate conduct by Israeli soldiers.

Ofir said his office examines every complaint, and when supported by evidence, opens a criminal investigation into the incident.

He said his office received over 1,000 incidents necessitating further examination, with over 150 of them having been completed, and hundreds more in process.

Addressing the recent controversy over incidents of nationalistic violence by Jewish Israelis in Judea and Samaria, Maj. Gen. Ofir said, “The fact that the arrest and investigation of Israeli civilians are the responsibility of the Israel Police does not exempt IDF soldiers from their obligation to act in the field, in real time.”

He said the military’s orders on the matter are clear: “soldiers who encounter violence are not permitted to stand by.”

“They must intervene, stop the violence, detain the suspects and hand them over to the police,” he stated.

Cases involving regular duty or reserve soldiers are also investigated, with the soldiers facing military or civilian legal action.

“When soldiers are involved in this kind of violence — including reservists serving in regional defense (hagmar) units — the policy is unequivocal: their reserve service is terminated, their weapons are confiscated, and, where appropriate, the matter is referred to the relevant authorities — the Military Police or Israel Police,” Ofir stated.

“We will not hesitate to use every measure available to us, including enforcement measures, when the circumstances justify doing so,” he added, noting that “despite all the steps taken, we have not yet succeeded in stopping the violence. Much work remains ahead of us, and we will work tirelessly to fulfill our mission and meet the responsibility entrusted to us.”