Palestinian actor says he can't attend Oscars because of US travel ban

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said ​a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration is preventing him ‌from attending this weekend’s 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.

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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 U.S.

“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, opens new tab proclamation restricting entry of ​foreign nationals, President Donald 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 January 1, according to the State Department’s website, opens new tab.

The State Department did not immediately 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 says the incident is under review.

Malhees says ​the film’s other Palestinian cast members have citizenship that ​allows U.S. ⁠travel but he only holds a Palestinian passport.

Trump has also attempted to deport foreign pro-Palestinian voices from the United States. On Friday, an immigration judge ordered the release of Leqaa ⁠Kordia, ​who lost over 170 family members in Gaza ​and has been detained for a year. Two previous orders have not led to her release.

Reporting ​by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non, Stephen Coates and Tom Hogue

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Kanishka Singh

Thomson Reuters

Kanishka Singh is a breaking news reporter for Reuters in Washington DC, who primarily covers US politics and national affairs in his current role. His past breaking news coverage has spanned across a range of topics like the Black Lives Matter movement; the US elections; the 2021 Capitol riots and their follow up probes; the Brexit deal; US-China trade tensions; the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; the COVID-19 pandemic; and a 2019 Supreme Court verdict on a religious dispute site in his native India.

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