The Palestinian Director Of "No Other Land" Was Beaten By Israeli Settlers And Then Kidnapped By Israeli Soldiers
A group of 15 to 20 masked Israeli settlers attacked Hamdan Ballal, beating and injuring him at his home in the village of Susiya in the Occupied West Bank on March 24.
Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," was attacked and beaten by Israeli settlers then arrested by Israeli forces in the Occupied West Bank.
“No Other Land”, a Palestinian Israeli documentary showing Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Israel-occupied West Bank, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards on March 3.
A group of 15 to 20 masked Israeli settlers attacked Ballal, beating and injuring him at his home in the village of Susiya in the Occupied West Bank on Monday, March 24.
Basel Adra, another co-director of the film, said he witnessed settlers entering the village Monday evening shortly after people broke the daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and one of the settlers who frequently attacks the village, walked over to Ballal’s home.
Adra said Ballal’s wife heard her husband being beaten outside and screaming, “I’m dying.”
Videos showed Israeli settlers harassing Ballal and his friends, stoning his car and injuring him in the head and stomach.
The settlers also attacked Jewish activists at the scene with stones and sticks, smashed their car windows and slashed their tyres, according to Al Jazeera.
Israeli forces arrived at the scene but pointed their guns at the Palestinians while settlers continued throwing rocks and stones at them.
Soldiers then abducted Ballal from an ambulance he had called, arresting him and two others for 24 hours while keeping them blindfolded, according to AP.
Israeli forces said it had detained three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at its forces and one Israeli civilian involved in a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians.
Ballal was released on Tuesday, March 25, after “being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base,” Yuval Abraham, the Israeli co-director of the film, said.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, there has been an increase in settler violence against Palestinians, which is often protected by Israel forces.
Isha Jain
Isha Jain
Sofia Hou
