Oscar-winning Palestinian director targeted by Israeli settlers after success of film

Proceeding from a new article, AP unveils that in a violent incident, Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land", was attacked by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being detained by the Israeli military. 

This was confirmed by his fellow directors and multiple witnesses.

Ballal, along with two other Palestinians, was arrested in the village of Susiya. Their attorney, Lea Tsemel, reported that the men were being held at a military base for medical treatment. However, Tsemel was unable to contact her clients and had no further updates on their whereabouts.

Basel Adra, another co-director of the film, was present during the assault and described how around two dozen settlers, some masked and armed, attacked the village. When soldiers arrived, they pointed guns at the Palestinians while settlers continued to throw stones.

“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us,” Adra told The Associated Press. “This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment.”

The Israeli military claimed it detained three Palestinians accused of throwing rocks at soldiers, alongside one Israeli civilian involved in a “violent confrontation” with Palestinians. Witnesses, however, disputed this account. The military stated that the detainees were transferred to Israeli police for questioning and that an Israeli citizen was evacuated for medical treatment.

"No Other Land", which won the Oscar for Best Documentary, highlights the struggle of Masafer Yatta residents to prevent the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. Co-directors Ballal and Adra, both from the region, collaborated on the project with Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The film has earned several international awards but also faced backlash, including when Miami Beach considered ending a lease with a theater that showed the documentary.

Adra recounted that settlers entered the village just after sunset, following the breaking of the daily fast for Ramadan. A settler, known to regularly attack the village, approached Ballal’s home with the military, and soldiers fired shots into the air. Ballal’s wife reportedly heard her husband’s screams of “I’m dying” as he was beaten outside.

Adra then witnessed soldiers escorting a handcuffed and blindfolded Ballal to a military vehicle. In a phone call with the AP, Adra noted that Ballal’s blood was still visible on the ground outside his home.

The attack also targeted activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, with a group of 10-20 masked settlers smashing car windows and slashing tires to force them to leave the area. A video showed a masked settler attacking two activists in a field as they tried to retreat to their car, with rocks striking the vehicle.

Israel took control of the West Bank in 1967, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem. Palestinians claim all three territories for a future state, with settlement expansion seen as a barrier to a two-state solution.

In the 1980s, Israel declared Masafer Yatta a live-fire training zone and ordered its residents to leave. Despite this, around 1,000 Palestinians have remained, enduring frequent demolitions and fearing forced expulsion.

In the wake of recent military operations in Gaza, there has been an increase in settler violence against Palestinians, as well as a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

By Naila Huseynova