JERUSALEM • A cinema in northern Israel has been named after Gal Gadot, star of blockbuster hit Wonder Woman.

"Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, brings honour to this country," spokesman Orna Yosef for the town of Upper Nazareth said.

"This is a message for our young people because Gal Gadot is an example of success who has shown that dreams can be attained."

Gadot, 32, won the Miss Israel beauty pageant in 2004 at age 18. After her two-year compulsory military service, she went into modelling and then films, breaking into Hollywood with a role in 2009's Fast & Furious. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Last year, Lebanon and Tunisia banned Wonder Woman because of her Israeli army service.

The Gal Cinema, which has two screens, opened officially yesterday with a showing of Israeli director Eran Riklis' thriller Shelter.

Upper Nazareth was founded in 1956 adjacent to biblical Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. Its population of 50,000 is 80 per cent Jewish, with the remainder made up of Muslim and Christian Arabs.

Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot said cinema closures in the area meant that until now, residents had to make a round trip of about 80km to see a film in the coastal city of Haifa.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE