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Israeli filmmaker Yuval Avraham is facing scrutiny over his longstanding ties to Ahmed Alnaouq, a Palestinian journalist and activist with Hamas connections. This came to light after Avraham's film, NAZA, won a prestigious award at the Venice International Film Festival. The film has faced harsh criticism from Israeli politicians and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), who have categorically rejected its allegations.

Minister Miki Zohar has called for the revocation of Avraham's and journalist Szor's Israeli citizenship, accusing them of committing "an act of treason against the state." Meanwhile, investigative journalist Eitan Fischberger has focused his criticism on Avraham, rather than the film itself. In 2019, Avraham reached out to Alnaouq to discuss the perspectives of young people in the Gaza Strip regarding politics in the region.

The two quickly formed a close bond, leading to the creation of the Across the Wall initiative. This platform provides a space for young Palestinians to share their personal stories, which are then translated into Hebrew.

Alnaouq serves as the vice president, treasurer, and outreach and advocacy officer at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a Hamas-linked organization. Euro-Med has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel since 2015, known for spreading false information and conspiracy theories, including accusations of "organ theft" and training police dogs to "rape prisoners and detainees." The organization's founder, Ramy Abdu, has been revealed to be a Hamas operative.

Alnaouq's own family ties to Hamas have further raised suspicions. His brother was mourned by Hamas as a "member of the resistance" killed in 2014 by Israeli security forces. Alnaouq himself has claimed that his brother was killed during a confrontation with Israeli forces, a narrative supported by Hamas's official Qassam Brigades.

In 2017, Alnaouq told an American journalist that resistance fighters are "young people who loved life and loved their homeland, but left their comfortable lives and joined the resistance to confront the Israeli occupation, and defend their homeland and land that had been taken from them since the Nakba of the Palestinian people in 1948."

This sentiment was echoed by Avraham in a 2021 interview with Zman Yisrael, who referred to Ayman's killing as a "very great tragedy."