Israeli forces blocked international journalists on Monday from entering the West Bank village of Basel Adra, the Oscar-winning Palestinian director of No Other Land, who had invited media to document rising violence and home demolitions in the area. The blockade, set up at the entrance to Tuwani village in Masafer Yatta, also prevented a Palestinian Authority delegation from entering.
Adra, who co-directed the award-winning documentary highlighting forced displacement of Palestinians, warned that violence and demolitions in the region are intensifying. “Settler violence increased… demolitions are happening in very crazy and high numbers,” he told AFP. The village of Khallet al-Dabaa, recently demolished by Israeli forces, was also targeted again last week by settlers harassing remaining residents.
Israeli forces claimed the checkpoint was meant to maintain public order, citing “violent clashes” in the area. However, Yuval Abraham, Adra’s Israeli co-director, called the blockade a clear example of how “state forces not only fail to stop settler violence but are often complicit in it.”
The journalists had hoped to shed light on ongoing human rights violations in Masafer Yatta, a region declared a military zone by Israel in the 1980s. Residents face regular demolitions, forced evictions, and attacks by settlers—conditions that No Other Land powerfully documents.
Despite global recognition for their film, Adra and Abraham expressed frustration at the lack of action from the international community. “The world now knows, but there is no real change on the ground,” Abraham said, as the checkpoint kept their story — and the people affected — just out of reach.