‘No Other Land’ Review: A Community Under Siege

There’s no need to explain here that the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians is anything but simple. Nor does it require much context to note that, in the West Bank, decades upon decades of conflict have unfolded between local residents, settlers—or occupiers, depending on one’s perspective—and the Israeli army. No Other Land, the Oscar-winning documentary, was filmed before the attacks and subsequent war in Gaza, a region geographically separate from the one depicted here. What the film—co-directed by Israelis and Palestinians—documents instead are the repeated incursions by the Israeli military aimed at destroying the Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta, justified under the claim that the area is designated as a military training zone.

Precarious communities like this one have existed for decades, with hundreds of families living there under harsh conditions, particularly in terms of infrastructure and sanitation. But because many of these villages are located directly across from, or dangerously close to, Israeli settlements, the decision has been made to remove them. The “military training zone” argument sounds more like a pretext: at best, the goal is to push them out. At worst, the implications are far more ominous.

Armed with a video camera, Basel Adra—co-director and central figure in the film—has spent years documenting every single violent raid: soldiers, weapons, bulldozers flattening homes, villages, and, if resistance becomes too visible, people as well. Shot with a nervous, urgent handheld camera that often places the filmmaker himself in danger, No Other Land captures destruction as it happens, without mediation or explanation. Soldiers arrive, bulldozers move in, everything in their path is erased—and if people are caught in the middle, that’s simply collateral damage.

The film has generated controversy in a climate where any criticism of Israeli military actions in Palestinian territories is often quickly labeled as antisemitic. While that accusation certainly exists in public discourse, the position taken by No Other Land—crafted jointly by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers—hardly fits that mold. Without directly addressing Gaza until the very end, the documentary focuses on a community fighting to remain on land it has inhabited for generations, even as its residents are attacked, harassed, beaten, and forced to watch their homes being demolished before their eyes.

Adra had long been a vocal critic of these policies, filming similar events for years, often alongside his father, a key figure in local activism. Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist collaborating with him, initially provides a certain level of access to restricted areas thanks to his press credentials. Eventually, even that proves insufficient. Nearly two years after filming wrapped, Adra is still dealing with the physical consequences of attempting to protect the people of Masafer Yatta—children and elderly residents among them—many of whom were brutally injured.

This is not a documentary that sets out to trace the historical evolution of disputed territories—a debate that can spiral endlessly depending on where one begins. What it does make unmistakably clear is the aggressive brutality displayed by Israeli soldiers and settlers toward a population that has little more than stones with which to defend itself. It is not, by any stretch, a film interested in “hearing both sides.” Yet even from a firmly defined point of view, the evidence presented is overwhelming, devastating in its clarity.

Abraham’s presence introduces another possible reading of these relationships—one that gestures toward understanding, dialogue, mutual respect, and negotiation. But that vision now feels almost utopian, and after October 7, 2023, and the ferocious response that followed, nearly impossible. Archival footage shot decades ago reinforces a grim conclusion: this violence did not begin recently, and it has only intensified over time. Final revelations regarding the true intentions behind the so-called military training zone only underline the film’s central argument—finding a reason, any excuse, to expel Palestinians from land they have lived on for generations.