Activist in Louis Theroux Settlers documentary ‘targeted in revenge raid'

Yahoo

07-05-2025

An activist who featured in Louis Theroux's BBC documentary about the West Bank has allegedly had his home raided in 'revenge' for his participation in the film.
Issa Amro was one of the Palestinians featured in Theroux's controversial documentary, The Settlers, which sought to shine a light on radical members of the Jewish settler community and violence perpetrated towards nearby Palestinians.
The film, which aired in late April, follows the scandal of another BBC documentary 'Gaza, how to survive a warzone', which was revealed to have used the son of a Hamas minister as a narrator.
Mr Amro said that his home was raided by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) over the weekend and that his son had been harassed by members of the settler community.
He said that Israeli soldiers appeared at his Hebron home, in the southern West Bank, without a warrant and attacked him, a friend, and damaged his property.
A spokesman for the IDF said soldiers had acted to 'disperse a confrontation between Palestinian residents and Israeli civilians'.
Oscar winner arrested
Since the beginning of the war which followed the October 7 massacre in 2023, IDF personnel in the West Bank are more likely to come from settler communities.
In March, Hamdan Ballal, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary for his portrayal of settler violence in the West Bank, was allegedly beaten by local settlers before being arrested and humiliated by the IDF – although the army said they had arrested local Palestinians for acts of violence.
He claimed he heard soldiers mention the Oscar during the alleged ordeal.
Mr Amro said: 'It's very dangerous to speak out about the things I talk about. My friends warn me all the time, 'Issa, you're going to get yourself killed'.
'But I am afraid about the future. It's getting more dangerous here. I felt it was really important to be a part of this.'
Teenage son harassed
The new BBC film is a follow-up to Theroux's 2011 documentary The Ultra-Zionists.
In it, he interviewed Daniella Weiss, known as the 'godmother' of the settler movement, which seeks to develop Jewish communities in areas outside the internationally recognised boundary of Israel.
Some in Israel and the international Jewish community have said it gives a one-sided impression of the settler movement and the violence in the West Bank.
Since the broadcast of the documentary, Mr. Amro has reported experiencing 'harassment,' which included being needlessly forced to go through police metal detectors multiple times at security checkpoints.
He also claimed that, last Friday, settlers approached his 13-year-old son near the family home and attempted to forcibly take him towards a settlement.
Israeli Police said: 'In general, any incident brought to our attention is reviewed according to police procedures and the law.
'The Israel Police remains committed to maintaining public order and ensuring the safety and rights of all individuals.'
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