Identifying as a Palestinian while having a Jewish boyfriend "is not as complicated as it sounds", according to Khader Abu-Seif, the main protagonist of a documentary that chronicles the lives of three gay Palestinians living in Tel Aviv.

Born and raised in Jaffa, the 29-year-old and his Jewish ex-boyfriend Daniel, were filmed during the 2014 war in Gaza and the events surrounding the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir by Jewish extremists.

Episodes such as these, Mr Abu Seif said, contribute to the impression of a permanently divided people. "They think that if you are Palestinian you want to kill Jews. And if you are Israeli you want to occupy more land. But there is this huge grey area of people in the middle who don't feel like that."

Oriented, directed by British film maker Jake Witzenfeld, was released last month to coincide with LGBT pride month, having premiered at the Sheffield Doc Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival in 2015.

Mr Abu Seif was filmed over the course of 15 months, alongside two of his friends, Fadi and Naim, both gay Palestinian citizens of Israel who live and work in Tel Aviv.

In the documentary, self-described "Palestinian nationalist" Fadi Daeem said he had doubted he could ever date a Jewish man, but then explained how he fell in love with an IDF soldier.

Mr Abu Seif said: "I think once people realise politics is for idiots, it is not a problem. Even now, with my new partner, who is Jewish, we just don't go there.

"If you love each other, you love each other as human beings. I love my boyfriend as a human before I love him as a Jew. And actually it is a privilege to be in a mixed couple because we can show the world we can be better than our governments."

Coming out to his Palestinian family at 15 was not easy for Abu Seif, who said he was "delighted" that the film had been shown at more than 100 festivals.

He said: "In the late '90s, my family was a big mafia family. My grandfather and his brothers had hard reputations. And when I was 18, my family asked me to change my family name. They said, we don't want to be associated with your story. But I didn't. I am not ashamed of my name or who I am."

While it was easy to enjoy the freedom of Tel Aviv, it was difficult for gay Arabs to identify as Palestinian in the city, Mr Abu Seif said. "If the state gave me an opportunity to feel like a citizen, then I would describe myself as an Israeli, but they don't."

In one segment of the film, the group goes to Amman, in Jordan, to a rock concert, and describe it as a place where they feel freer. Abu Seif said: "There is this crazy idea that Israel is the only place in the Middle East that will have you. Beirut, for example, is one of the biggest gay capitals there is."