Jasper Chaplin, West London Socialist Party
Released in 2023, Oscar-winning No Other Land is a vignette of the life of Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and activist living in Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages south of Hebron, in the West Bank.
The film follows how Adra and his family cope with the constant threat and reality of displacement by the Israeli military from 2019 to 2023. Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist and co-director of the documentary, spends time in the community, publishing articles about the displacement to increase visibility.
Starting in 2019, Adra films as the Israeli military displace one of his neighbouring villages, claiming that the Palestinian people have illegally built on military training ground. Masafer Yatta is located in Area C, which comprises the 61% of the West Bank under total Israeli control; Palestinian construction is prohibited in nearly three quarters of this area, with permits nearly impossible to obtain in the remaining land.
The footage of the four years that follow shows the brutality of the displacement: a Masafer Yatta resident is shot and paralysed from the shoulders down while protecting a power generator, Israeli soldiers rip up water pipes and fill wells with concrete, protests are broken up with stun grenades, and buildings crumple like paper under the claws of heavy-duty excavators.
In the beginning, Adra seems hopeful that activism and documentation of the occupation will force the US to put pressure on Israel to withdraw from the territories. But, as the documentary continues, and Adra and Abraham’s efforts gain international notice, nothing changes and the displacement continues.
Adra becomes visibly more demoralised, and the tentative alliance that Masafer Yatta residents have formed with Abraham deteriorates. Where before there was light-hearted ribbing about his country of origin, now there are heated debates with raised voices reflecting resentment that Palestinian Arabs in the occupied territories feel towards Israel.
The inequality is most evident when Abraham says he is going home. He can move freely between areas in the West Bank and return to Jerusalem easily, and is able to use all the roads. When he gets home, there will be no pervasive fear hanging over him that he might be forced to leave. Meanwhile, there is a palpable feeling of dread and expectancy that follows the residents of Masafer Yatta. Adra is left in his settlement, which is illegal under Israeli occupation and at risk of demolition, with severe limits on his freedom of movement elsewhere in the territories. He cannot stay and he cannot go.
No Other Land is an emotional gut-punch and an authentic portrayal of life under occupation. It gives insight into one small part of a protracted social conflict that has been ongoing since the late 19th century.
However, because of its focus on the very human narratives within, which are absolutely vital to mitigate the dehumanisation of Palestinians, any in-depth political analysis is left out.
In the wake of the ceasefire announcement in January, all eyes are on Gaza. But in the West Bank, the occupation continues. Only independent working-class action and organisation can offer a route forwards for the Palestinian masses and workers in Israel, to fight for socialist change across the Middle East and worldwide.
No Other Land is available to watch in cinemas and on demand
