‘Baghdad Central’ actress Maisa Abd Elhadi is 'recovering' after being injured during a protest in Israel


Katy Gillett
  • English
  • Arabic

Maisa Abd Elhadi, who is known for her role as Zahra in Channel 4 thriller series Baghdad Central, was injured after allegedly being shot by Israeli police during a protest in Haifa on Sunday.

The Palestinian actress, who is from Nazareth, was part of a protest against the expulsion of several families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem, which has led to ongoing and escalating violence between Palestine and Israel in recent days.

At the time, Elhadi, who also stars in Netflix Original The Angel, posted a note on Instagram saying she had been "injured on my leg" and in a later post "by the occupation's bullets".

On Wednesday, she shared another message with more details of her experience, saying she is now "recovering and feeling much better".

"I never thought I would write a post like this and I am a bit embarrassed to write this in the face of my own people who have experienced far worse," she wrote in her message.

She says she was taking part in a peaceful protest in Haifa, where she and other protesters were "chanting, singing, expressing our anger using our voices".

However, "a short while" after the protest began, "the soldiers began firing stun grenades and gas grenades and I realised that things are beginning to escalate", she wrote.

"I did not pose a threat to anyone."

She goes on to explain how her leg was injured and how a number of fellow protesters came to help her, calling the ambulance, which took half an hour to get there as "the police prevented it from entering the site and helping the injured protesters".

Elhadi said this is not the first time police and the army have assaulted protesters. "I had no doubt that as a Palestinian I am constantly facing immediate threat, but this time it became clear that we are at the war front and the only thing separating us from death is luck."

She also posted the message in Hebrew, along with a few images and videos documenting the event, plus one photo of the stitches on her leg.

Amid escalating violence in Palestine and Israel, a number of celebrities have spoken out in solidarity with the Palestinians, including Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo and Natalie Portman.

Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, a former soldier in the Israeli army, also shared her thoughts on Twitter, which were met with an online backlash as critics accused her of supporting "ethnic cleansing" and "mass genocide", and purporting she is a "propaganda" tool for the Israeli military.

Follow the latest updates as tensions escalate in Israel and Gaza here

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