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Oscar-winning Palestinian director 'attacked by Israeli settlers and detained'
Hamdan Ballal suffered head and stomach injuries, according to his No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham
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Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was beaten in the occupied West Bank and later detained by Israeli forces, according to his fellow filmmaker and an activist group.
On Monday, settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta region, damaging property, the activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence stated.
Among those injured was Ballal, who sustained a bloody head wound. Activists said he was receiving medical treatment in an ambulance when soldiers arrested him and another Palestinian man.
Josh Kimelman, one of the activists who was at the scene, told The Associated Press news agency: “We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was taken away in a blindfold.”
During the attack, a group of 10 to 20 masked settlers allegedly assaulted Jewish activists with stones and sticks, vandalising cars by smashing windows and slashing tires.
Footage from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence captured one settler throwing punches at two activists, who then ran back to their vehicle.
Ballal is detained in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
AP
His co-director, Yuval Abraham, shared details on X, alleging that Ballal had also suffered a stomach injury.
Abraham wrote: “A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land.
“A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land.
“They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.”
He later clarified: “Note: Hamdan was assaulted and beaten up, not murdered. My use of ‘lynched’ was a mistranslation from Hebrew (English isn’t my first language).
“He’s injured and being held at a police station in a settlement. They did not let his lawyer speak to him yet so we don’t know more.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shared a different account of the events in a statement released on Monday, claiming the violence began when “several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles.”
According to the IDF, both sides engaged in throwing rocks, and when security forces, including the IDF and Israeli police, arrived at the scene, “several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces”.
Both parties agree that three Palestinians were detained following the confrontation. Ballal is believed to be held at a police station, according to the Center for Jewish Nonviolence.
The group, which had five American activists on the ground working with the organisation, reported that the settlers also attacked them, supported by photos and videos the organisation provided.
The IDF further stated that an Israeli citizen was detained after the incident but was later evacuated for medical treatment. “The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police,” the IDF added.
Following the attack on Ballal, the International Documentary Association in a statement: “We demand Ballal’s immediate release and that his family and community be informed about his condition, location and the justification for his detention.”
No Other Land, directed by Ballal, Abraham, Palestinian activist Basel Adra, and Israeli filmmaker Rachel Szor, documents the destruction of Masafer Yatta by Israeli forces and the bond that forms between Adra and Abraham.
Since its debut at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, the documentary has earned multiple international accolades.
Rachel Szor, Ballal, Basel Adra, and Yuval Abraham accept the Oscar for best documentary feature film in March
AP
The powerful feature then went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the March ceremony.
“We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other,” Abraham said in a powerful acceptance speech.
“The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed.
“When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law. Basel is under military laws that destroy his life, and he cannot control.
“There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.”
 — Only a few weeks ago, Hamdan Ballal stood on a stage in Los Angeles accepting an Oscar for the film “No Other Land,” a documentary depicting his West Bank village’s struggle… %23hamdanballal)
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