'Israel' blocks media access to ‘No Other Land’ West Bank village
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A convoy of international journalists was turned back by masked Israeli occupation soldiers while attempting to report from Masafer Yatta.
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A screengrab from a video showing Masked Israeli occupation forces blocking a tour with dozens of international journalists, saying they’re not allowed to enter Masafer Yatta and visit Basel Adra's home (X)
Masked Israeli soldiers blocked a convoy of international journalists attempting to enter Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta region, which has faced ongoing demolition and settler violence. The area gained international recognition as the setting of the Oscar-winning No Other Land documentary.
Despite the film’s global acclaim, the situation in Masafer Yatta remains dire. In early May, Israeli soldiers nearly leveled the village of Khalet al-Daba’a. In response, the film’s co-directors, Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra, the latter a resident of the area, organized a press visit to document the destruction.
“It’s not easy for me to write this, but my community Masafer Yatta will be destroyed unless more activists and journalists don’t urgently come and join us on the ground,” Adra posted on X.
It’s not easy for me to write this, but my community Masafer Yatta will be destroyed unless more activists and journalists don’t urgently come and join us on the ground. Settlers are now in Khalet Al-Dabia village 24/7 after the army destroyed it. pic.twitter.com/KQ3fIzhIAj
— Basel Adra (@basel_adra) May 29, 2025
On Monday, 20 press vehicles were halted en route to Khalet al-Daba’a by Israeli occupation soldiers wearing black balaclavas. Video shared by Abraham shows a soldier informing the journalists that they had “a reasonable time of 10 minutes” to vacate the area.
The journalists had been invited to witness the aftermath of the recent demolitions and the impact of Israeli settler violence. An Israeli journalist for 972 magazine protested the blockade, emphasizing that the journalists were guests in Adra’s home and had a right to report.
After the army destroyed a village and allowed settlers to invade it, they are now blocking our tour with dozens of international journalists saying they’re not allowed to enter Masafer Yatta and visit @basel_adra home. pic.twitter.com/1wEek6BeA6
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) June 2, 2025
“They are coming to see the destruction in Masafer Yatta, the way that you are destroying the community, the settler violence,” Abraham said.
The Israeli officer claimed the group posed a “public disturbance” and justified the restriction as a measure to “keep order.”
Adra countered the soldiers’ claims with accounts of unchecked settler violence, “You didn’t prevent the settlers when they came to burn the homes inside, the cars, and attack people. I have so many videos of settlers coming to attack us and shoot people here. You do nothing. Why? Why now, only when journalists are coming to see this and to film this and to interview people, [are] you coming to prevent them?”
Masked soldiers decided to close off Masafer Yatta and prevent international journalists from reaching the area.
— Basel Adra (@basel_adra) June 2, 2025
This is what it means to live under occupation: a masked soldier decides who and when can pass, when to destroy or to invade our homes. https://t.co/SMsX7PrEEQ
by the way, today another attack happened in masafer yatta. the victim, qussai, 17, isn't an oscar winner, so people won't hear about it, but here's the video of masked settlers beating him with metal rods as his mom screams in the background, just in case pic.twitter.com/7Wh16Ugg7J
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 28, 2025
Following the incident, Adra posted, “This is what it means to live under occupation: a masked soldier decides who and when can pass, when to destroy or to invade our homes.”
International response, continued repression
The International Solidarity Movement reported that two of its activists were detained in Khalet al-Daba’a on Saturday. One of them, Susanne Bjork, a 48-year-old Swedish citizen based in London, has been deported.
The documentary feature film "No Other Land," which focuses on the Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community, won an Oscar in March 2024. Less than a month later, co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by settlers in Masafer Yatta and subsequently abducted by Israeli forces.
Since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023, settler land occupation has escalated, backed by the far-right administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week, the Israeli government announced plans to formalize 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, "legalizing" previously unauthorized outposts.
Read more: 'Israel' defies law, approves 22 illegal West Bank settlements
