logo
Israeli forces block media entry to Palestinian village featured in Oscar-winning film, all while violence by illegal settlers gets worse

Israeli forces block media entry to Palestinian village featured in Oscar-winning film, all while violence by illegal settlers gets worse

Malay Mail03-06-2025
TUWANI (Palestine), June 3 — Israeli forces yesterday blocked an international media tour in the occupied West Bank, preventing journalists from entering the village of Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra who decried worsening Israeli violence.
Adra's film 'No Other Land' chronicles the forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops and settlers in Masafer Yatta, an area in the southern West Bank that Israel declared a restricted military zone in the 1980s.
Journalists from AFP and other international media travelled to Tuwani at the invitation of Adra, who lives in the village, and co-director Yuval Abraham, seeking to draw attention to a spate of house demolitions and violent incidents in recent weeks.
At the entrance to Tuwani, the journalists as well as a Palestinian Authority delegation were blocked by Israeli forces, who said they had a warrant to set up a one-day checkpoint.
Abraham called the roadblock a 'good example' of what he said was Israeli authorities' involvement in attacks against Palestinians in Masafer Yatta.
Adra said the violence was 'getting worse and worse'.
'Settler violence increased, the demolitions carried out by Israeli soldiers and authorities against our homes and schools and properties is increasing in very crazy and high numbers,' he told AFP.
An Israeli officer who refused to give his name told AFP the force was at the entrance to Tuwani to 'keep the public order'.
'There were violent clashes between settlers, Jews, Arabs, journalists, and to prevent these violent clashes, we decided not to allow passage today,' the officer said.
Adra said that last week, settlers had entered the nearby Palestinian hamlet of Khallet al-Dabaa, which was bulldozed by the Israeli army in early May, with the Israelis harassing the residents who remained despite the destruction.
To Abraham, blocking the media tour was a 'good example of the relationship between settler violence and the state'.
'These police officers and soldiers that are here now to prevent the international media, not only do they not come to prevent the settler violence, often they partake in it,' the Israeli co-director told AFP.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared throughout the Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Since the start of 2025, attacks by Israeli settlers have left at least 220 Palestinians injured, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA has said.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 937 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Gaza war began.
Attacks by Palestinians and clashes during military raids in the West Bank over the same period have killed 35 Israelis, including soldiers, according to official figures.
Abraham said he had been trying to hold on to hope that the film's success would bring change on the ground.
'Unfortunately, the world now knows, but there is no action,' he said. — AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Over 100,000 flee as deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes trigger UN crisis talks
Over 100,000 flee as deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes trigger UN crisis talks

Malay Mail

time17 minutes ago

  • Malay Mail

Over 100,000 flee as deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes trigger UN crisis talks

SURIN, July 25 — More than 100,000 people have fled the bloodiest border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in a decade, Bangkok said today, as the death toll rose and international powers urged a halt to hostilities. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops yesterday and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday. The Thai interior ministry said more than 100,000 people from four border provinces had been moved to nearly 300 temporary shelters, while the kingdom's health ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 14 — 13 civilians and one soldier. In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the border, AFP journalists reported hearing distant artillery fire on Friday morning. As the guns started up, some families packed their children and belongings into vehicles and sped away. 'I live very close to the border. We are scared because they began shooting again at about 6:00 am,' Pro Bak, 41, told AFP. He was taking his wife and children to a Buddhist temple to seek refuge. 'I don't know when we could return home,' he said. AFP journalists also saw soldiers rushing to man rocket launchers and speeding off towards the frontier. Calls for calm The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours—both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists—over their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier. Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash. Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples. Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border. Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. Thursday's clashes came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. Cambodia downgraded ties to 'the lowest level' on Thursday, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh. At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the deadly clashes, diplomatic sources told AFP. The United States urged an 'immediate' end to the conflict, while Cambodia's former colonial ruler France made a similar call. The EU and China—a close ally of Phnom Penh—said they were 'deeply concerned' about the clashes, calling for dialogue. — AFP

Thailand and Cambodia's deadly border dispute: what we know
Thailand and Cambodia's deadly border dispute: what we know

The Star

time2 hours ago

  • The Star

Thailand and Cambodia's deadly border dispute: what we know

Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. Thailand and Cambodia fought their bloodiest military clashes in more than a decade on July 24, with at least 12 people killed as the two sides battled with tanks, artillery and ground forces over a disputed border zone. - AFP BANGKOK: Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday (July 24) as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, killing at least 11 civilians, in a sharp escalation of a long-running border dispute. The two countries are locked in a bitter feud over parts of the Emerald Triangle, where their borders meet Laos and several ancient temples stand. AFP takes a look at what's going on: How did it start? The territorial row has dragged on for decades, but the latest flare-up between the two countries began with military border clashes in May that left one Cambodian soldier dead. Since then, the two sides have hit each other with retaliatory measures, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports. Five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine blast on Wednesday in the Nam Yuen district of northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province, according to the Thai army. The Thai ministry of public health said Thursday at least 11 civilians had been killed in cross-border strikes by Cambodia. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry declined to comment on Thursday when asked about casualties on its side. What happened? The conflict blazed on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery into Thailand, and Thai F-16s carried out strikes on two Cambodian military targets, officials said. A Cambodian shell hit a Thai house, killing one civilian and wounding three, including a five-year-old. The clashes erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey, with both sides trading blame. Thailand condemned Cambodia as "inhumane, brutal and war-hungry", accusing it of targeting homes and civilian infrastructure. What is the state of diplomacy? The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after the landmine injuries. Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia "as soon as possible" unless they had urgent reasons to remain. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday requested the UN Security Council convene an "urgent meeting" to address what his foreign ministry called "unprovoked military aggression". China, a close ally of Cambodia, said it was "deeply concerned" about the clashes, calling for dialogue. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, which currently chairs Asean, called on its fellow members Thailand and Cambodia to "stand down". Thai political crisis? The border dispute has also triggered a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct. In an attempt to defuse the row, Paetongtarn held a diplomatic call with Hun Sen, Cambodia's former longtime ruler and father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. The phone call was leaked from the Cambodian side last month, sparking a judicial investigation. Cambodia's future conscripts? Hun Manet announced this month that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law. He cited rising tensions with Thailand for the decision. Cambodia's conscription law dates back to 2006 but has never been enforced. Hun Manet has proposed conscripts serve for two years to bolster the country's 200,000 personnel, requiring citizens aged 18 to 30 to enlist in the military. - AFP

Global news agencies voice concern over journalists' safety in Gaza
Global news agencies voice concern over journalists' safety in Gaza

Malaysian Reserve

time2 hours ago

  • Malaysian Reserve

Global news agencies voice concern over journalists' safety in Gaza

ISTANBUL — Global news agencies, including AFP, AP, Reuters and BBC, on Thursday voiced concern over the safety of their journalists in Gaza, urging Israel to ensure their safe entry and exit, reported Anadolu Ajansi (AA). In a joint statement released on social media, the media outlets said: 'We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families. 'For many months, these independent journalists have been the world's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.' The media outlets also said they were 'deeply alarmed' by the starvation threat facing journalists. 'We once again urge the Israeli authorities to allow journalists in and out of Gaza. It is essential that adequate food supplies reach the people there,' they added. — BERNAMA-ANADOLU

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store