Oscar-winning ‘No Other Land’ director Hamdan Ballal attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested
The co-director of Oscar-winning No Other Land, Hamdan Ballal, has reportedly been attacked by settlers, according to Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham, who also worked on the documentary.
On March 24th, Abraham posted on X in regards to the incident, writing: “A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co director of our film No Other Land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.”
In another video shared by Abraham, masked settlers can be seen attacking the crew and subsequently throwing stones at their car. This is reported to have taken place in the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, where they have also destroyed property.
As Ballal was being treated in an ambulance, soldiers reportedly detained him and a second Palestinian man, it has been reported, with his now unknown.
This incident comes after another Palestinian director of the documentary, Basel Adra, was attacked last February, similarly by masked Israeli settlers.
Ballal’s film No Other Land won the Oscar this year for ‘Best Documentary’, chronicling the struggle faced by residents of Masafer Yatta to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. Along with Ballal, Basel Adra, both residents of Masafar Yatta, and two Israeli directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor also worked on the project.
In his victory-winning speech at the Academy Awards, Abraham made a rallying call for peace between the two regions, saying, “We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.”
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