Tue Mar 25 16:35:17 UTC 2025: ## Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Beaten, Detained by Israeli Forces After Settler Attack
**RAMALLAH, West Bank –** Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was released Tuesday after being detained and allegedly beaten by Israeli forces following an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Ballal, a Palestinian, sustained bruises and injuries during the incident, according to the Associated Press, which reported seeing him and two others leaving a police station in the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba with visible injuries.
The attack occurred Monday evening in the village of Susiya during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Around two dozen settlers, some masked and armed, attacked residents as they broke their fast. Witnesses reported Israeli soldiers present pointed their weapons at Palestinians while settlers threw stones. Ballal’s wife, Lamia, described hearing her husband screaming as he was beaten with rifle butts outside their home.
Ballal alleges he was blindfolded for 24 hours, held in a freezing room at an army base, and subjected to mocking by soldiers. His attorney, Lea Tsemel, stated that the three men received minimal medical care and were denied access to legal counsel for several hours. They were accused of throwing stones, a claim they deny.
The attack follows the film’s recent Academy Award win, prompting concerns of increased targeting. Basel Adra, another co-director, stated there’s been a significant escalation in settler violence since the Oscars, alleging that Israeli forces facilitate rather than prevent these attacks. A widely circulated video from August shows a known settler threatening Ballal, foreshadowing the recent assault.
Amnesty International has called for accountability for the attack, demanding those responsible be held accountable for the assault and subsequent detention. The Israeli military reported detaining three Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks and one Israeli civilian involved in the confrontation. However, the accounts of the incident from witnesses and Ballal himself paint a starkly different picture of the events. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank.
First Piper 