AWARD-winning director and actor Mohammad Bakri has died aged 72.
Bakri, best known for his documentary Jenin, Jenin, was reportedly suffering from heart and lung problems.
Local media quoted Bakri’s family as saying he died on Wednesday after suffering from heart and lung problems.
His cousin, Rafic, told the Arabic news site Al-Jarmaq that Bakri was a major advocate of the Palestinians who used his works to express support for his people.
Bakri, who was born in northern Israel and held Israeli citizenship, worked in both film and theatre.
His best-known one-man show from 1986, The Pessoptimist, focused on the intricacies and emotions of someone who has both Israeli and Palestinian identities.
During the 1980s, Bakri played characters in mainstream Israeli films that humanised the Palestinian identity, including Beyond the Walls, a seminal film about incarcerated Israelis and Palestinians.
Jenin, Jenin was a turning point in Bakri’s career.
Released in 2003, the documentary was about an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank city during the second Palestinian uprising.
The film, focusing on the heavy destruction and heartbreak of its Palestinian residents, was banned by Israel.
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