The Oscar went to 'No Other Land,' but that might not save Masafer Yatta

Each morning, the first thing Alaa Hathleen does is anxiously check his WhatsApp messages with a single question on his mind: “Who will be homeless today?” Just over two weeks ago, it was his turn.

Each morning, the first thing Alaa Hathleen does is anxiously check his WhatsApp messages with a single question on his mind: “Who will be homeless today?”

Just over two weeks ago, it was his turn. Early on Feb. 18, Hathleen, 25, was still asleep at his family home in the village of Umm Al-Kheir on the outskirts of Masafer Yatta in the Israeli-occupied West Bank when his mother raced into the room, terrified. Israeli soldiers and excavators were outside, she yelled.

Less than half an hour later, they were standing outside their home, watching in horror as an excavator tore through the building, crushing its walls to rubble and snapping its metal roof in half.

Asked to comment on the incident on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces were unable to provide a response as of Friday afternoon local time.

Masafer Yatta’s landscape of rolling hills and small hamlets gained renewed international attention when “No Other Land,” a documentary by Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist, won an Oscar on Sunday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/oscar-went-no-land-might-not-masafer-yatta-rcna195068

---