Israeli soldiers raided the home of Palestinian activist and Oscar-winning director Basel Adra in the occupied West Bank after a settler attack on his village.
Settlers entered At Tuwani on Saturday evening, injuring two of his brothers and a cousin, Adra told the Associated Press.
He accompanied them to the hospital and while there, he said he heard from his family that nine Israeli soldiers had entered his home in search of him and had looked through his wife's phone. One of his uncles was also briefly detained, he said.
The Israeli military said it had received reports that “a number of terrorists hurled stones at Israeli civilians” in the village, so troops were sent to the scene.
Adra said he was unable to return home to check on his family because Israeli soldiers were blocking the way to the village. He described it as “horrific.”
“Even if you are just filming the settlers, the army comes and chases you, searches your house,” he said. “The whole system is built to attack us, to terrify us, to make us very scared.”
Adra spent most of his career documenting settler violence in Masafer Yatta, southern occupied West Bank. No Other Land, which won an Oscar this year for best documentary, depicts the struggle residents face. The film has won several other international awards and has sparked condemnation from Israel.
Israeli co-director on the film and journalist Yuval Abraham said he was “terrified” for Adra.
In March, Hamdan Ballal, who is also credited as a co-director, was attacked in his village of Susya. The global film industry condemned the attack he faced by armed settlers.
Israel’s military declared Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets, as a military training zone in the 1980s, a move that paved the way for the expulsion of Palestinian residents.
Many have stayed, but face constant raids by the Israeli military to demolish property. The communities also face violence from nearby settlements, which has greatly increased since the Gaza war began.
