Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has reportedly been attacked by settlers in his village on the West Bank and arrested.
The incident was reported by co-director and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham on X, who wrote: “A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called and took him. No sign of him since.”
Abraham then posted that a “lynch mob” attacked Ballal’s village and continued to attack American activists, “breaking their car with stones”. He reiterated that Ballal’s whereabouts remained unknown.
According to The Guardian, which cited five Jewish American activists who witnessed the incident, Ballal was surrounded by around 15 armed settlers who threw stones and destroyed a water cooler. The report said that after the attack Ballal was taken into custody by the Israeli army along with another, unidentified, man. The activist witnesses said when they entered Ballal’s home they saw blood on the floor.
A statement issued by Israeli Defense Forces read: “IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces. The forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police.”
The International Documentary Fund posted on its website: “We demand Ballal’s immediate release and that his family and community be informed about his condition, location, and the justification for his detention.”
No Other Land won the Oscar on March 2 and depicts Palestinians in the Masafer Yatta communities on the West Bank as they attempt to live their lives despite an Israeli programme to demolish their homes. It was co-directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective comprising Basel Adra, Abraham, Ballal, and Rachel Szor.
The documentary has been a political lightning rod ever since it premiered at the 2024 Berlinale. No US distributor has stepped up to release it, although the film has earned more than $1.7m and counting at the North American box office after Cinetic Media brought on Michael Tuckman to book cinemas through his mTuckman Media. It has earned more than $700,000 internationally through distributors licensed by Autlook Film Sales.
Last week a mayor in Miami Beach, Florida, reversed his proposal to evict an arthouse cinema after it screened No Other Land.
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