The co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land called for global action to protect Palestinian rights on Thursday, saying the UN and international community must "start to act seriously to enforce international law".
Basel Adra, whose film chronicles the Israeli military’s incremental expulsion of the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, told The National that the US, more than any other country, must take steps to rein in Israel.
"The US, their weapons, their tax money is going to serve this occupation,“ said Mr Adra, who was visiting the UN to speak before the Committee of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. "The US has the power and they should act to stop this."
Mr Adra said US President Donald Trump should “respect international law” and comply with rulings by the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. He also urged Mr Trump not to lift sanctions on Israeli settlers and to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
During his speech to the UN, Mr Adra said that while the success of the film – which won Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards – exceeded expectations, it had not altered the harsh realities faced by Palestinians under occupation.
"I don’t know for how long we can keep holding these crimes and facing these attacks and this brutality,” he said.
Human Rights groups have said that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, there has been a spike in attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Occupied by Israel since 1967, the West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as nearly half a million Israelis who live in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Much of the film is Mr Adra's personal footage, using his camera to document the violence of Israeli settlers and the military, as he and his relatives try to protect their small Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta from destruction.
“It’s a struggle that my father started, my grandfather as well, against this occupation and displacement,” he said. “This is why I’m here today. This is why I made No Other Land, and this is why I continue to work and to come to talk to the world, at the Oscars, here at the UN, everywhere.”
Mr Adra vowed to keep sharing his story and those of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem “until we reach our freedom and live on our land with freedom and dignity”.
“Even if I have no hope but I still have faith, so I will not give up and continue to work to support my community,” he told The National.
