Israel Frees Oscar-Winning Palestinian Filmmaker After Attack/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal was released by Israeli authorities after being attacked and detained in the West Bank. Settlers reportedly assaulted him outside his home as he filmed the incident, prompting international outcry. The attack follows rising violence amid the war in Gaza and increased tensions in occupied Palestinian territories.
Ballal Release Quick Looks
- Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, released from Israeli custody.
- Ballal and two others were beaten by settlers before being detained by soldiers.
- His wife said he was attacked outside their home while filming the incident.
- All three detainees were taken to a West Bank hospital with visible injuries.
- Ballal had won an Oscar weeks earlier for a documentary about life under Israeli occupation.
- The Israeli army claimed Palestinians threw stones; no evidence presented.
- Settlers allegedly dressed in military uniforms, attacked Palestinians and activists.
- Human rights groups warn of growing settler violence post-Gaza war.
- Israel maintains military rule in the West Bank and continues demolitions in Masafer Yatta.
- Ballal’s film spotlighted Palestinian resistance to forced displacement.
Israel Frees Oscar-Winning Palestinian Filmmaker After Attack
Deep Look
Israeli authorities released renowned Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal on Tuesday, a day after he was attacked by settlers and detained by soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Ballal, one of the co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was reportedly assaulted outside his home while filming the incident, his wife said.
Ballal and two other Palestinians were taken into custody Monday evening after a group of masked and armed settlers stormed the village of Susiya during the evening meal for Ramadan. Witnesses say settlers threw stones and vandalized property as residents broke their fast. When Israeli soldiers arrived, they allegedly pointed weapons at Palestinians while the attackers continued their rampage.
Ballal’s wife, Lamia, said she and their three children hid indoors while her husband screamed for help. “I heard him cry out, ‘I’m dying!’ and calling for an ambulance,” she told reporters. From a window, she watched as three men in uniform beat him with rifle butts while another person in civilian clothes filmed the beating.
The three detainees were released from a police station in the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba and taken to a hospital in Hebron with visible bruises and bloodstained clothing. Their lawyer, Lea Tsemel, said they had been left overnight on the floor of a military base with only basic medical care. Tsemel said they were falsely accused of throwing stones at settlers.
On Tuesday, Ballal’s home still bore signs of the attack: shattered car windows, bloodstains on the ground, and a punctured water tank. Residents said the attackers wore a mix of civilian clothes and military-style uniforms, a tactic that blurs lines between settlers and soldiers.
Ballal’s documentary No Other Land, which documents Palestinian life in the Masafer Yatta region under Israeli occupation, won Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards earlier this month. The film highlights the community’s fight against demolitions and displacement ordered by Israeli authorities, who designated the area a military training zone in the 1980s.
The film’s success has reportedly sparked backlash. Co-director and activist Basel Adra said violence from both settlers and Israeli forces has surged since the Oscars.
“We’re living in dark days,” Adra said. “Nobody is stopping these pogroms—soldiers are only there to help carry them out.”
Jewish activists who support Palestinians have also been targeted. Josh Kimelman, of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, said settlers smashed windows and slashed tires of their vehicle on Monday. Video provided by the group shows masked settlers attacking activists in a nighttime ambush.
Israeli officials confirmed three Palestinians and one Israeli were detained in what they described as a “violent confrontation.” The military has since referred further questions to police, who have not issued a statement.
The situation reflects broader systemic tension. Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, in place since the 1967 Mideast War, subjects over 3 million Palestinians to a separate set of laws than the 500,000+ Israeli settlers who live in communities considered illegal under international law.
Masafer Yatta, the region where Ballal and his film crew live and work, remains under threat of forced expulsion. Though Israel declared it a live-fire zone in the 1980s, around 1,000 Palestinian residents have refused to leave, enduring routine demolitions of homes, water tanks, and olive groves.
The attack on Ballal follows a wave of violence across the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. Military raids have killed hundreds of Palestinians, and settler attacks—often conducted with impunity—have risen sharply. Human rights groups warn of a dramatic escalation in both military operations and settler violence, with civilians increasingly caught in the crossfire.
The Vatican, European Union, and human rights organizations have expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights conditions in Palestinian territories, though few tangible steps have been taken.
As for Ballal, his release has not brought peace of mind. His family remains shaken, and his home still bears the scars of the attack. But the filmmaker’s story has drawn international attention once again—this time not from the Oscar stage, but from the ground of a village under siege.
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