One of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, Hamdan Ballal, was hospitalised and later detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Monday, as per several media reports.
The incident occurred in the village of Susiya, part of the disputed Masafer Yatta region, following a violent confrontation involving masked Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Activists and witnesses reported that Ballal was beaten, suffered head and stomach injuries, and was taken into custody alongside two other Palestinians. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Violent clash in Susiya
The confrontation unfolded shortly after sunset as residents of Susiya were ending their Ramadan fast.
According to witnesses and activist accounts, a group of approximately 20 people, many of them masked and armed, entered the village and began attacking residents. Some of them wore Israeli military uniforms.
Hamdan Ballal, who lives in the village and co-directed No Other Land, sustained a bloody head injury and was reportedly heard screaming “I’m dying” by his wife.
The activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence confirmed the assault and stated that Ballal was later detained by Israeli soldiers, handcuffed, blindfolded, and removed from the scene.
Another Palestinian man was also detained.
Basel Adra, a fellow co-director of the documentary, witnessed the incident and said the settlers threw stones while the soldiers pointed their guns at the Palestinians.
Adra said the same settler who often leads attacks in the area arrived with the Israeli military and that gunfire was heard in the air.
He later saw Ballal’s blood on the ground outside his home and said the village has faced regular assaults since their return from the US.
The Israeli military confirmed that three Palestinians were detained for allegedly throwing rocks and that one Israeli civilian was removed for medical attention.
The statement has been contested by multiple witnesses, including activists on the ground.
Video and witnesses contradict claims
A video shared by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence showed masked settlers attacking activists in the area.
The clip, filmed at night in a dusty field, shows the settlers swinging fists and throwing rocks while activists flee to their car.
One of the activists, Josh Kimelman, reported that the settlers also slashed tyres and smashed windows to force them out of the area.
The attack on Susiya came just days after the team behind No Other Land returned from the Oscars, where their film won Best Documentary Feature.
The film documents the systematic displacement of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta by Israeli military orders, particularly since the region was designated a live-fire zone in the 1980s.
Despite the designation, about 1,000 Arab Bedouin residents remain in the area.
‘No Other Land’ sparks global controversy
The film No Other Land is a collaborative work between Palestinians and Israelis, including Ballal, Adra, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, and director Rachel Szor.
It has gained global recognition since premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024, where it won major awards. Its recent Oscar win further spotlighted the ongoing struggles in the West Bank.
However, the documentary has also provoked political backlash. In the US, a proposal was introduced to terminate the lease of a cinema that screened the film in Miami Beach.
Critics of the documentary argue that it presents a one-sided view of the conflict, while supporters say it sheds light on rarely documented human rights concerns in occupied territories.
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