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The house you live in will be destroyed by bulldozers

Tale

This film, made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, shows the alliance between Masafer Yatta, an occupied West Bank destroyed by Israeli soldiers, and Basel, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval, an Israeli journalist. Just imagine. Imagine you have a choice: live in a cave or build a new house. Imagine having to watch a new house being destroyed by bulldozers as well. This is documented in “No More Land” and it makes your blood boil.

Although friendship might not be the right word

The film shows how Israeli occupiers systematically destroy a village in the West Bank. Its residents are protesting, holding demonstrations and starting legal proceedings, but nothing can stop the process. The film hits like a punch in the stomach. Much of the material is shot with small hand-held cameras or smartphones, which gives it a genuine authenticity. Another strength of the film is that it documents not only the demolition of the buildings, but also the friendship between Basel, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval, an Israeli journalist who wants to raise public awareness of injustice.

Yuval’s participation adds an extra layer to the film

They are colleagues and brothers in arms, but the difference between them is always palpable. “You have to learn to lose,” Basel tells Yuval when the reporter notices that his stories are of little interest. “We have been fighting for decades, the situation cannot be changed in a few days”. To the Palestinians, he will always be a “yehudi”; on the other side, who can go home to their comfortable lives. But for his fellow Israelis, he sympathizes with the enemy and is blamed for his involvement in Palestinian activism.

The film has a huge emotional impact

The film contains peaceful moments when Basel and Yuval discuss the situation by an open fire or smoke a hookah, but also shocking images of villagers being shot down, in one case the victim’s paralysis and miserable life without proper treatment. It reminded me of similar documentaries like 'For Sama' or '20 days in Mariopuli'. The filmmakers stopped filming in October 2023, when everything changed in Israel and Palestine. Of course, the events of the last 12 months give the film an extra rush. We know that the village symbolizes much more injustice, bloodshed and cruelty.

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We also know that now it is not just houses that are being destroyed, but the lives of thousands of innocent people.