Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said a travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration is preventing him from attending the Academy Awards, whose nominees include a movie in which he has a starring role.
The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film about a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024, has been Oscar-nominated for best international feature film.
Malhees, who plays the role of a call center operator attempting to help her, said he cannot attend the Academy Awards show, known as the Oscars, because he has been barred from entering the US.
Photo: CineCANIBAL via AP
“I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship,” Malhees said on Instagram, adding “it hurts” he would not attend the Oscars.
In a December proclamation restricting entry of foreign nationals, Trump said he had “determined to fully restrict and limit the entry of individuals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.”
The proclamation restricting entry of people from some countries cited security reasons and went into effect on Jan. 1, the US Department of State’s Web site says.
The department did not respond to a request for comment.
The movie was spurred by an incident in which five of Rajab’s family members and two ambulance workers who went to save her were also killed by Israeli fire.
Israel said the incident is under review.
Malhees said the film’s other Palestinian cast members have citizenship that allows US travel, but he only holds a Palestinian passport.
On Friday last week, an immigration judge ordered the release of Leqaa Kordia, who lost more than 170 family members in Gaza and has been detained for a year.
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