Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal assaulted and detained by Israeli army

Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian filmmaker and co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary film “No Other Land”, was assaulted and detained by Israeli forces on Monday following an attack by illegal settlers in the West Bank.

The incident occurred in the village of Susya, where a group of illegal Israeli settlers attacked Ballal and several Jewish activists with stones and sticks.

Vehicles belonging to the activists were also vandalized, with windows shattered and tires slashed. Ballal sustained head injuries during the assault and was treated on-site in an ambulance before being taken into custody by Israeli troops, reportedly blindfolded.

Shedding light on efforts of resistance

Ballal co-directed “No Other Land”, a 2024 Berlinale award-winning film that chronicles the struggles of Palestinian communities in the Masafer Yatta region, which faces ongoing demolitions by Israel. The film sheds light on efforts to resist the demolition of Palestinian villages.

The Masafer Yatta area has been designated as a live-fire training zone by the Israeli military since the 1980s, displacing nearly 1,000 Palestinian residents. Israeli forces frequently demolish homes, tents, and water tanks in the region.

Israeli authorities have not commented on Ballal’s detention, and no official explanation for the arrest has been provided.

Tension remain high in occupied West Bank

Tension remains high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 937 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.