Lebanon bans ‘Wonder Woman’ over Israeli star

LEBANON’S interior ministry banned the new ‘Wonder Woman’ film from cinemas yesterday because an Israeli actress plays the lead role.

Lebanon considers Israel an enemy country and the Ministry of Economy and Trade oversees a boycott of any business transaction concerning Israel.

An interior ministry source said they had issued an order to ban the movie, which stars former Israeli army soldier Gal Gadot, based on a recommendation from the General Security directorate.

The distributor for Warner Brothers in the region said the movie was set to première officially in most of Beirut’s major cinemas last night, after private showings had been held the day before, but the public release screenings were cancelled.

The Ministry of Economy said it had asked the General Security directorate to prevent screenings of ‘Wonder Woman’ due to Gadot’s role in the film.

Israel fought a monthlong war with its Lebanese foe Hezbollah in 2006, and has targeted the Iranianbacked armed group in Syria in recent years, but there has been no major direct confrontation.

The 2006 war killed around 160 Israelis, most of them troops fighting inside Lebanon, while 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, died in Israel’s military barrages.

A UN-monitored ceasefire has largely held since the 2006 war, which also displaced a million people in Lebanon and nearly 500,000 in Israel.