No Other Land director Basel Adra’s home raided by Israeli soldiers

Silencing people who document its crimes has become one of Israel’s most consistent strategies. Journalists and filmmakers are treated as enemies, simply because they expose the true nature of Israel’s brutality.

Over the weekend, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra’s village Masafer Yatta, wounding two of his brothers and his cousin. While he was at the hospital with them, nine Israeli soldiers stormed his home, questioned his wife and arrested his uncle – all while his nine-month-old daughter was present. Adra could not return, as soldiers blockaded the village entrance.

This is not an isolated incident. Since the release of the Oscar-winning documentary film No Other Land, whose production IMS proudly supported, both Adra and his co-director Hamdan Ballal have faced intensified harassment. In March, Ballal was arrested after Israeli settlers assaulted him and was left beaten, blindfolded and handcuffed.

Israel’s message is clear: those who expose the truth about settler violence and Israel’s ongoing genocide risk being intimidated, tortured or murdered.

According to the UN, since the beginning of this year alone 11 Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks in the West Bank and nearly 700 wounded. Journalists and filmmakers like Adra and Ballal, who have the courage to show the world this reality, are being directly targeted, not only in Gaza but across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The persecution of Adra and Ballal is not just an attack on two individuals. It is an assault on the public’s right to know about Israel’s ceaseless efforts to deny the Palestinian people the right to exist, which I condemn in the strongest possible terms. I will say this once again: Journalism is not a crime – targeting those who practice it is.