Israeli director receives death threat for film on settler violence in West Bank

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – An Israeli filmmaker said Wednesday he received death threats over a documentary that highlights settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

“No Other Land,” a film co-directed by Yuval Abraham with Palestinian filmmakers, was awarded the best documentary award at the Berlin Film Festival last week.

The documentary charts the eradication of Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank amid settler attacks and Israeli army raids.

The film shows how a young Palestinian activist, Basel Adra, documents the gradual demolition of the villages in his region by Israeli soldiers. At some point, he meets an Israeli journalist who supports him in his efforts.

"A right-wing Israeli mob came to my family’s home yesterday to search for me, threatening close family members who fled to another town in the middle of the night," Abraham said on X.

The Israeli director said he is "still getting death threats" and had to cancel his flight back to Israel.

According to the filmmaker, his documentary was denounced by Israeli Channel 11 as “anti-Semitic.”

“I’ve been receiving death threats since. I stand behind every word," Abraham said.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

More than 400 Palestinians have since been killed and 4,500 others injured by Israeli army fire and in settler attacks in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice over its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has left nearly 30,000 people dead.

In an interim ruling in January, the Hague-based court ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar