Oscar Win Brings Global Attention to Palestinians in Masafer Yatta
Residents of Masafer Yatta, a remote Palestinian community in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, are hopeful that the Oscar victory of No Other Land will shine a global spotlight on their struggle against displacement.
Just days before the Academy Awards, Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian family’s shed in the area—another episode in a long history of destruction targeting these hamlets, where residents face the looming threat of expulsion.
Over the weekend, the people of Masafer Yatta celebrated as No Other Land, a documentary highlighting their plight, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The film, co-directed by Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, captures the daily struggles of the community, as Adra documents home demolitions and settler violence despite the risk of arrest.
The film, five years in the making, has already received multiple international accolades, beginning with the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. Its message has taken on even greater urgency amid Israel’s war on Gaza and the surge of violent raids in the West Bank that have left tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced.
In the hamlet of al-Tuwaneh, Basel’s younger brother, Salem Adra, shared the family’s joy at the Oscar win, describing how they stayed up all night to watch the ceremony.
“It was such a surprise, such joy,” Salem said. He expressed hope that the award would “open the world’s eyes to what’s happening in Masafer Yatta.”
However, he noted that since the film’s release, his family has faced increased harassment, with settlers attacking their car and Israeli forces repeatedly targeting them. After the film won an award in Berlin last year, the military detained his father, searched his phone, and questioned him about their documentation efforts.
The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s, ordering the expulsion of its residents, who are primarily Arab Bedouins. Despite claims that no permanent structures existed there before Israel’s occupation, Palestinian families insist they have lived and herded livestock in the region for generations.
After a 20-year legal battle, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the expulsion order in 2022. While about 1,000 residents remain, Israeli forces frequently demolish homes, water tanks, and olive orchards, leaving Palestinians in constant fear of forced displacement.
During his Oscar acceptance speech, Basel Adra called for an end to the injustice.
“I hope my daughter will not have to live the same life I am living now… always fearing settler violence, home demolitions, and forced displacement,” he said.
His words echoed the sentiments of an entire community fighting to stay on their land.
