ISLAMABAD: Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, in the occupied West Bank before he was detained by Israeli forces, according to witnesses and fellow filmmakers.
Ballal was among three Palestinians arrested in the village of Susiya, said attorney Lea Tsemel. Police informed her that the detainees were receiving medical treatment at a military base, but she has been unable to speak with them.
Settler Attack and Military Detention
Basel Adra, another co-director of No Other Land, said around two dozen settlers—some masked, some armed, and others in Israeli military uniforms—stormed the village. Israeli soldiers pointed their weapons at Palestinians while settlers threw stones.
“We returned from the Oscars, and every day since, we’ve faced attacks,” Adra told the Associated Press. “It feels like punishment for making the film.”
The Israeli military claimed it detained three Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks and an Israeli civilian involved in a “violent confrontation.” However, witnesses disputed this account, stating that the military sided with the settlers and arrested Palestinians instead.
No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, highlights the struggle of Masafer Yatta residents against Israeli military efforts to demolish their villages. The film, co-directed by Ballal and Adra along with Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has received multiple international awards since its debut at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.
Following its release, the documentary faced backlash, including a proposal in Miami Beach to terminate a movie theater’s lease for screening it. Adra believes the ongoing settler violence may be an act of retaliation for the film’s global recognition.
Eyewitness Accounts of the Assault
The attack occurred shortly after local residents broke their fast for Ramadan. Adra reported that a known settler, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, approached Ballal’s home. Soldiers fired warning shots, and Ballal’s wife later heard him screaming, “I’m dying,” as he was beaten outside.
Adra witnessed soldiers leading Ballal away, blindfolded and handcuffed, with blood still visible on the ground outside his home. Another eyewitness, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisals, corroborated Adra’s account.
Settlers also assaulted activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, smashing car windows and slashing tires to drive them away, said activist Josh Kimelman.
A video from the center showed a masked settler attacking two activists in a field at night, forcing them to retreat to their vehicle as rocks were hurled at them.
The West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, remains a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians seek these territories for a future state and consider Israeli settlement expansion a key obstacle to peace.
The attack on Ballal and the subsequent detentions have intensified concerns over settler violence and military complicity in the region, adding to the broader tensions gripping the occupied territories.
