Israel Releases Palestinian Oscar Winner After Detention in West Bank

JERUSALEM, 26 March 2025 (BSS/AFP) – Israeli authorities have released Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, an Oscar-winning documentarian, a day after he was detained for allegedly “hurling rocks” following what activists have described as an assault by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Ballal, co-director of the Academy Award-winning documentary No Other Land, was seen with bloodstains on his shirt in a photograph posted on social media by fellow filmmaker Basel Adra after his release.

“After winning an Oscar, I never expected to face such an attack,” Ballal said in a video recorded by AFPTV. “It was a brutal assault, and their intent was to kill.”

Incident in Susya

According to the Israeli military, three Palestinians were detained on Monday in the village of Susya, located in the southern West Bank near Masafer Yatta, for allegedly throwing stones during a confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians.

“A violent confrontation erupted, involving mutual rock-throwing between Palestinians and Israelis,” the military stated.

Masafer Yatta, where No Other Land is set, has long been at the centre of tensions. The documentary, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year, sheds light on the forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops and settlers. The region was declared a restricted military zone by Israel in the 1980s, a designation that has led to repeated evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes.

A spokesperson for the Israeli police confirmed Ballal’s detention and later stated that three individuals had been released on bail. The statement noted they were under investigation “on suspicion of rock-throwing, property damage, and endangering regional security”.

Claims of Assault

Ballal recounted his ordeal, claiming that he was assaulted by a settler.

“He was hitting me all over my body, and there was also a soldier with him who was beating me,” he alleged.

Yuval Abraham, co-director of No Other Land, stated that Ballal sustained injuries to his head and stomach and was bleeding as a result of the assault.

Activists from the anti-occupation group Centre for Jewish Nonviolence said they had witnessed the attack while they were in Susya to document settler violence.

“This kind of violence happens regularly,” said Jenna, an American activist who withheld her full name due to security concerns. She described how, before Israeli forces arrived, a group of 15 to 20 settlers had attacked the activists and Ballal’s home.

Foreign activists frequently stay in Masafer Yatta’s Palestinian communities to accompany residents as they farm or herd livestock and to document instances of settler violence.

Escalating Tensions in the West Bank

Human rights organisations have reported a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023.

The West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, is home to approximately three million Palestinians and nearly half a million Israeli settlers. Israeli settlements in the territory are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Ballal’s detention and subsequent release come amid mounting international scrutiny over the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories, with growing calls for action against settler violence and the displacement of Palestinian communities.