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Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned an official ban on screening
of “Jenin, Jenin”, a documentary depicting the Jenin massacre.
The massacre took place for about two weeks in April 2002 and left
an unknown number of Palestinians dead.
The Israelis will be able to watch the Israeli army’s invasion of
the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
"The fact that the film includes lies is not enough to justify a
ban," said Justice Dalia Dorner in her verdict.
The director and co-producer Muhammad Bakri, a Palestinian who also
holds Israeli citizenship, won a court battle on Tuesday after the
court argued that Film Ratings Board’s decision was an “exaggerated
attack on freedom of expression”.
Mr Bakri welcomed the verdict, saying he hoped his film would show
Israelis the Palestinian point of view and "help end occupation and
bring about peace".
The film was shown three times in Israel before the ban kicked in
and critics say it is heavily partisan, featuring only interviews
with local Palestinians who accuse Israeli soldiers of killing
innocent civilians.
The film quotes residents saying that Israeli soldiers had committed
war crimes.
The film is also dedicated to its producer, Iyad al-Samudi, who was
killed by Israeli soldiers after the shooting of the documentary was
completed. He was returning home during an Israeli invasion of the
area.
Jenin, Jenin won best film award at the 2002 Carthage International
Film Festival and was widely screened across the world.
Relatives of the soldiers killed said on Tuesday that their loved
ones' reputation would be blackened by the showing of the film.
"This court decision says that the honour, good names and memories
of Israeli soldiers, people who wanted to protect us, is worthless,"
said Haggai Tal, whose brother Roi was killed.
"The film is a lie."
For 54 minutes, viewers are gripped by the harrowing stories retold
by survivors of the massacre. Without the use of a narrator, the
film pieces together the events of the massacre through the
survivors’ stories.
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