Palestinian Oscar winner detained by Israeli soldiers after settler attack

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Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was detained by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank following an outbreak of violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, according to activists.

The Center for Jewish Nonviolence reported that Ballal’s house in the village of Susya was surrounded by settlers during an attack on Monday. His co-director, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, stated that Ballal had been beaten and taken by soldiers while inside an ambulance. However, Israeli authorities disputed this account.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), without naming Ballal, said three Palestinians and one Israeli were detained for allegedly “hurling rocks” at security forces. The incident occurred after masked settlers launched an attack in Susya at around 18:00 (16:00 GMT), according to five Jewish American activists who were present. The activists, who had gone to document the violence, reported that settlers smashed their car windows, punched them, and struck them with sticks. They also claimed that when they informed Israeli soldiers of the attack, the army intervened, causing the settlers to retreat.

Yuval Abraham, who won the Oscar alongside Ballal earlier this month, said that multiple people were injured and properties destroyed during the attack. The IDF confirmed that soldiers and Israeli police arrived to disperse the confrontation and claimed that stones were thrown at security forces. “In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation,” the IDF stated. They added that an Israeli citizen was injured and taken for medical treatment.

Ballal’s film, *No Other Land*, which won Best Documentary at the 97th Academy Awards, chronicles the struggle over Masafer Yatta, a cluster of about 20 Palestinian villages, and the friendship between Ballal and Abraham. The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, with Israeli settlements expanding despite being considered illegal under international law—a classification Israel rejects. Violence in the region has escalated further since the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, with a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.