Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was beaten in the occupied West Bank and detained by the Israeli military, activists on the scene said.
On Monday, a group of settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, destroying property, said the activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence.
One of the victims of the alleged attack included Ballal, who was left with a bloody head injury, the activists said.
The group added that as he was being treated in an ambulance, soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the episode but did not immediately comment.
Ballal’s No Other Land co-director, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, wrote about the alleged attack on X, claiming that Ballal had also sustained a stomach injury. “They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding,” Abraham wrote.
Along with Ballal and Abraham, No Other Land was co-directed by Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli director Rachel Szor.
The heart-wrenching and critically acclaimed film depicts the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between Adra and Abraham.
It went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the March ceremony.
“We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other,” Abraham said in a powerful acceptance speech.
“The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed. When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law. Basel is under military laws that destroy his life, and he cannot control. There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
United States foreign policy under President Donald Trump is “helping to block this path,” he added. “Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe. There is another way. It’s not too late for life for the living.”
Over the weekend, Israeli forces continued their offensive in Gaza after talks to extend the temporary cease-fire deal that went into effect in mid-January came to a stalemate. The Israeli military took control of additional territory and issued new evacuation orders to residents who had just recently returned to their homes.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
