- Israeli settlers assaulted Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land.
- Ballal was one of three Palestinians taken into custody.
- Filmmaker Basel Adra witnessed the incident.
Israeli settlers assaulted Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, in the occupied West Bank on Monday before he was detained by the Israeli military, according to witnesses and fellow filmmakers.
Ballal was one of three Palestinians taken into custody in Susiya, as confirmed by attorney Leah Tsemmel, who stated they were held at a military base for medical treatment but were unreachable.
Filmmaker Basel Adra, who witnessed the incident, reported that around two dozen settlers, some masked and armed, raided the village. Soldiers pointed guns at Palestinians as settlers “continued throwing stones.”
“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us,” Adra told AP, adding, “This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment.”
The Israeli military claimed the detainees threw rocks, which AP’s sources disputed.
Settlers stormed Ballal’s home, where his wife overheard him screaming, “I’m dying.” Adra later saw him blindfolded and handcuffed before being taken away.
No Other Land, which documents the Masafer Yatta residents’ struggle against Israeli demolitions, recently won an Oscar, attracting international acclaim.
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