Palestinian Filmmaker Beaten, Detained in West Bank Attack \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Israeli settlers attacked Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, in the West Bank before he was detained by Israeli soldiers. The attack occurred in the Palestinian village of Susiya, where settlers also destroyed property. The Israeli military has yet to comment on the incident.
West Bank Film Director Attack Quick Looks:
- Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal in Masafer Yatta.
- Ballal co-directed No Other Land, an Oscar-winning documentary.
- Settlers also vandalized property in the Palestinian village of Susiya.
- Soldiers detained Ballal while he was receiving medical treatment.
- Witnesses say settlers used stones and sticks in the attack.
- Video footage shows masked settlers assaulting activists at night.
- Israeli military has acknowledged the incident but offered no comment.
- No Other Land highlights the struggle of Masafer Yatta residents.
- The region has been under threat of demolition since the 1980s.
- West Bank tensions have escalated during the ongoing Gaza war.
Deep Look
Tensions in the occupied West Bank flared once again on Monday when Israeli settlers violently assaulted Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. The attack, which took place in the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta region, left Ballal with a bleeding head injury before he was detained by Israeli soldiers, according to reports from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence and activists present at the scene.
The group reported that dozens of Israeli settlers stormed Susiya, destroying property and attacking both Palestinian residents and Jewish peace activists. Ballal, whose documentary has gained international acclaim for chronicling the plight of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta as they face home demolitions and forced displacement, became a target of settler violence.
As Ballal was receiving medical treatment in an ambulance, Israeli soldiers detained him and another Palestinian man. “We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was taken away in a blindfold,” said Josh Kimelman, a Jewish activist who witnessed the incident, in a statement to the Associated Press.
Eyewitness accounts describe between 10 to 20 masked settlers launching an aggressive assault, wielding stones and sticks against Palestinians and Jewish activists alike. Cars belonging to the activists were also vandalized, with windows smashed and tires slashed.
Video footage provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence captured part of the violence. In the night-shot video, a masked settler is seen shoving and throwing punches at two activists, who quickly retreat to their vehicle. Shouts of “Get in, get in!” are heard as rocks crash against the car, breaking windows and forcing the activists to flee the scene in fear.
Ballal’s documentary, No Other Land, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2024, has drawn global attention to the daily struggles of Palestinian residents in Masafer Yatta. Co-directed by Ballal, fellow Palestinian Basel Adra, and Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the film documents Israel’s ongoing military orders to demolish Palestinian homes and the community’s fight to remain on their ancestral lands.
The Israeli military designated the Masafer Yatta area as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and has continually ordered the expulsion of the roughly 1,000 residents, most of whom are Arab Bedouins. Although many Palestinians have refused to leave, they face routine demolitions of homes, tents, water tanks, and even olive orchards. Residents and human rights groups fear that mass expulsion could occur at any time.
The incident has further highlighted the dangerous escalation of violence in the West Bank, especially during the ongoing war in Gaza. In addition to military operations, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023. Settler attacks on Palestinians have surged, while attacks by Palestinians on Israeli settlers and soldiers have also increased.
The West Bank, captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 100 settlements considered illegal under international law. These settlers live under Israeli civil law, while the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with limited governance provided by the Palestinian Authority.
The violence in Susiya is part of a growing pattern of aggressive settler activity in Palestinian villages, often carried out with little intervention from Israeli authorities. The Israeli military acknowledged that it is “looking into the episode” but did not offer any immediate comment or clarification regarding Ballal’s detention.
The documentary No Other Land has been celebrated internationally, starting with its award-winning premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. However, it has also drawn controversy and backlash within Israel and among pro-Israel circles abroad. In one notable instance, city officials in Miami Beach briefly considered terminating the lease of a theater that screened the film, citing political sensitivities.
As Ballal’s whereabouts remain unknown following his detention, the international community is calling for clarity and accountability. Activist groups and human rights organizations are demanding his immediate release and protection for Palestinians and peace activists in Masafer Yatta.
Meanwhile, the rising violence and continued demolition orders signal an ongoing crisis in the region. For Palestinians living under daily threats of displacement, settler violence represents yet another layer of danger — one that No Other Land sought to bring to the world’s attention and which now tragically touches its creator directly.
Palestinian Filmmaker Beaten Palestinian Filmmaker Beaten
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