Israel angered by Netflix film 'exposing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians'

A Netflix film depicting Zionist militias killing or displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the The Nakba ("The Catasrophe") has caused outrage in Israel but also praised for giving an accurate account of the massacres and ethnic cleansing during the 1948 creation of Israel.

The film 'Farha' by Jordanian director Darine Sallam is due to stream globally on Netflix from Thursday, informing audiences of the tragedy faced by Palestinians during Israel's creation.

The Nakba saw 750,000 Palestinians expelled from their homes by Zionist militias in a campaign that included murder, rape, and death threats.

The film is based on a true story, which depicts a 14-year-old girl witnessing the killing of her family through a hole in the wall of her home, after her father hid her from a rampaging Zionist militia.

"It's crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretence and incite against Israeli soldiers," AFP quoted Avigdor Lieberman, the secular far-right politician who served as finance minister in Israel's outgoing government.

"All the available measures, including denying funding… to prevent this terrible screening or similar films in the future [are needed]," Lieberman threatened.

Israel's Culture Minister Chili Tropper slammed the show as "lies and libels".

Israel has a record on censoring Palestinian art and expressions of national identity.

In interviews, Sallam has said she made the movie - based on the story of her family friend - to shed light on the root cause of the conflict and occupation of Palestinian territories.

"The story travelled over the years to reach me. It stayed with me. When I was a child, I had this fear of closed, dark places and I kept thinking of this girl and what happened to her," Sallam told Arab News.

The effects of the Nakba and subsquent invasions of Palestinians territories live on today, with around 5.7 million Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli oppression of Palestinians remains widespread, through arbitrary detentions, killings, and home evictions.