Israeli soldiers on Monday blocked an international media tour in the occupied West Bank organized by the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. The tour aimed to highlight the ongoing situation in the village of At-Tuwani, which is featured in the film, but journalists were prevented from entering by Israeli forces.
The documentary highlights the Israeli government’s efforts to force Palestinians to leave their homes in Masafer Yatta, located in the southern West Bank. The directors, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, invited a group of local and international journalists to witness the reported rise in violence by Israeli settlers and the demolition of homes in Adra’s village. However, the group was stopped at a checkpoint, with Israeli soldiers citing a warrant for the action.
In a video posted on social media, Abraham can be heard telling the soldiers: “You know they are journalists. They are here to report on the destruction in Masafer Yatta, the settler violence, and how it is harming the community.”
An Israeli officer responded, stating that the restrictions on journalists were in place to maintain “order” in the region.
Masafer Yatta was designated as a live-fire training zone by the Israeli military in the 1990s, giving Israel full control over the area. The West Bank is home to around 3 million Palestinians, alongside approximately 500,000 Israelis living in settlements considered illegal under international law.
In March, shortly after No Other Land won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers near his village, then arrested and held overnight by the Israeli army.
Abraham criticized the actions of Israeli authorities, telling the French news agency AFP, which was also part of the media tour, that Israeli forces often do not intervene to prevent settler violence. “Not only do they fail to stop the violence, but they sometimes take part in it,” Abraham said.
Despite the documentary’s global recognition, Abraham expressed disappointment over the lack of action to stop the violence. “The world now knows, but nothing is being done,” he told AFP.
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