Israeli actress Gal Gadot is staying away from the Venice Film Festival in the wake of a political row over whether she should attend.

The actress is the star of one of the films which will be premiering in Venice this year, called In The Hand of Dante.

But Gadot and her co-star in the film, Gerard Butler, are coming under pressure over their perceived support of the state of Israel during its military campaign in Gaza.

The fear is that Gadot, 40, could act as a ‘lightning rod’ for protests amid planned demonstrations against Israel, which look certain to disrupt the red carpet on Saturday.

There is already heavy security this year, with a ring of steel erected around the collection of cinemas at the centre of the festival and a very visible police presence. Body scanners, bag checks and security passes are all being used to monitor delegates and ticket holders.

Pressure group Venice4Palestine has demanded that Festival organisers the Venice Biennale withdraw invitations from both Gadot and Butler ‘along with any artist and celebrity who publicly and actively supports genocide’.

Venice Film Festival boss Alberto Barbera confirmed this week that the actress is not coming to Venice.

But he said: ‘The position of the Biennale is on the one hand we are an Italian cultural institution, a place of openness and debate that does not censor anybody.

‘We’ve been asked to turn down invitations to artists – we will not do that, if they want to be here they will be here.’

He added: ‘On the other hand we have never hesitated to clearly declare our huge sadness and suffering vis a vis what is happening in Gaza and Palestine. The death of civilians and especially children who are victims – they are the collateral damage of a war nobody has been able to terminate yet.’

Isabella De Monte, Forza Italia MP and deputy head of the party’s Foreign Affairs department, said: ‘Dialogue and a plurality of ideas are the main tools that culture deploys to overcome sectarianism.

‘It’s good that Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco emphasized this to the 1,500 artists who were calling for a boycott of Gal Gadot and her film with Gerard Butler. A reckless protest, because in the eyes of those protesting, Gadot’s only crime is being Israeli.

‘The Venice Film Festival deserves respect.’

The issue is set to dominate the opening days of the festival, with a demonstration yesterday and a larger march planned on Saturday.

And it certainly seems to be an issue that’s dividing Hollywood and the wider film industry. Brad Pitt is among those who have taken on executive producer roles on the Gaza drama, The Voice of Hind Rajab, which is also premiering in Venice.

Directed by Oscar-nominated Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania with actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara also involved as executive producers, the film tells the story of a young Palestinian girl – Hind Rajab – who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year along with six of her family members. Rajab and her family had been fleeing Gaza City.

Rajab and another cousin initially survived and contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) by phone from the car seeking aid, but she was dead by the time paramedics came to help.

The film includes the real audio of Rajab before her death.

The incident sparked global protests, including at Columbia University, where students renamed an academic building called Hamilton Hall as Hind’s Hall.

Earlier this month, Gadot opened up about the commercial failure of Disney’s Snow White, in which she played the Evil Queen.

Speaking on an Israeli talk show, she said: ‘I really enjoyed filming that movie, I really had fun. Even working alongside Rachel Zegler. We laughed and we talked, we had fun.

‘I was positive the movie was going to be a huge hit. And then October 7th happened, and what happened all over in different industries, not just Hollywood, there was a lot of pressure put on celebrities, actors, creators to post against Israel.

‘And it happened. I can always explain and try to give people in the world context about the situation and the reality in Israel, and I always do that. But at the end, people make up their own minds. And I was disappointed that the movie was incredibly affected by all of that and that it didn’t do well at the box office. But it is what it is, you win some, you lose some.’

The film grossed a total of $200million (£148million) on a production budget of $270million (£200million) plus marketing costs of around a further $80million (£59million).