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

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) – Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said on Friday that a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration prevented him from attending this weekend’s Academy Awards, where a film in which he stars is also nominated.

“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which tells the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024, was nominated for an Oscar for best international feature film.

Malhees, who played the role of a call center operator trying to help him, said he could not attend the Academy Awards show, also known as the Oscars, because he was banned from entering the United States.

“I am not allowed into the US due to my Palestinian citizenship,” Malhees wrote on Instagram, adding that it “hurts” that I won’t be able to attend the Oscars.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a December proclamation restricting entry to foreign nationals, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “committed to fully restricting and limiting the entry of individuals using travel documents issued or approved by the Palestinian Authority.”

Security reasons were cited in the declaration restricting the entry of people from some countries.

The film stemmed from an incident in which five of Rajab’s family members were killed by Israeli fire, as were two ambulance workers who went to rescue him. Israel said the incident was under investigation.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Stephen Coates)