Oscar-Winning Palestinian Director Attacked by Settlers, Claims Israeli Soldiers Assisted

 Hamdan Ballal, the Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker behind No Other Land, has alleged that Israeli soldiers aided settlers in a brutal attack against him outside his home in the West Bank. Speaking to The Guardian, Ballal recounted how two Israeli soldiers not only allowed a settler to assault him but also joined in, striking him with rifle butts and threatening to kill him.

The incident occurred on Monday evening in Susya, a village in the Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron. Ballal, who was observing Ramadan, had just finished breaking his fast when he was alerted that settlers had entered the village. As a human rights worker and photographer, he instinctively grabbed his camera to document the unfolding situation. However, what began as an attempt to record events quickly escalated into a life-threatening confrontation.

According to witnesses, the settlers—some armed with knives, batons, and even an M16 rifle—stormed the village under the escort of Israeli soldiers. When Ballal began taking photos, he noticed the aggression intensifying. “There were dozens of settlers, and they were becoming more violent,” he recalled.

The violence was indiscriminate. Masked settlers attacked Palestinian residents and even Jewish activists, smashing car windows and slashing tires. In video footage provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV), a settler is seen shoving and throwing punches at two activists in a dusty field at night.

Realizing the potential danger, Ballal rushed home to warn his wife and children. “I told my wife, ‘Lock the house and keep the children inside.’ They could attack me, but at least my family would be safe.”

Moments later, a settler—flanked by two Israeli soldiers—approached Ballal’s house. The soldiers fired warning shots into the air to deter anyone from coming to his aid. “The soldiers aimed their rifles at me while the settler beat me,” he said. “They threw me to the ground, and the settler struck my head. Then one of the soldiers joined in, using the butt of his rifle. After that, he fired a shot in the air and made it clear the next one could be aimed at me. At that moment, I thought I was going to die.”

Following the attack, Ballal—injured, handcuffed, and blindfolded—was taken to a military vehicle along with two other Palestinians. They were transferred to a police station in Kiryat Arba, a nearby Israeli settlement, where they spent the night in harsh conditions. “We were forced to sleep on the floor under a freezing air conditioner,” Ballal recalled.

During his detention, he was allegedly subjected to further mistreatment by Israeli soldiers. “This was revenge for our movie,” he claimed. “I could hear the soldiers laughing at me… I heard them say ‘Oscar.’”

His lawyer, Lea Tsemel, confirmed that the detainees received minimal medical care and were denied legal access for several hours. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied all allegations of abuse, stating that “claims of detainees being beaten in detention are entirely baseless.” The military added that detainees received medical treatment after being transferred to Israeli police custody and that their handcuffing followed standard protocol.

Ballal, born in 1989 in Susya, is a filmmaker, photographer, and human rights activist. His documentary No Other Land, co-directed with Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, exposed the displacement of Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta from 2019 to 2023. The film gained international acclaim, winning awards at the Berlin International Film Festival and the 2024 Academy Awards.

However, the documentary has also sparked controversy. In Israel, it has been widely criticized, with Culture Minister Miki Zohar calling its Oscar win “a sad moment for the world of cinema.” In the U.S., the mayor of Miami Beach proposed canceling the lease of a theater that screened the film.

Ballal believes the attack against him is part of a wider crackdown on Palestinians and activists speaking out against Israeli policies. “We won the Oscar just three weeks ago, and the violence has escalated,” he said. “Not just against me or my colleagues, but against all the residents.”

His co-director, Yuval Abraham, accused the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of failing to publicly support Ballal during his ordeal. He claimed that although some Academy members pushed for a statement condemning the attack, it was ultimately rejected. “Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land, but also for being Palestinian—like so many others who suffer violence every day,” Abraham wrote on social media. “The Academy remained silent when one of their honored filmmakers needed them the most.”

Masafer Yatta has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Declared a live-fire training zone by the Israeli military in the 1980s, the area remains under constant threat of forced displacement. Despite ongoing demolitions of homes, water tanks, and olive groves, about 1,000 Palestinian residents continue to resist eviction.

The situation has worsened since the outbreak of war in Gaza, with Israel conducting widespread military operations in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, and settler attacks have risen sharply. According to CJNV, at least 43 attacks have been recorded in Susya since the beginning of 2025 alone.

Ballal fears the violence will continue. “They won’t stop here. The settlers will keep attacking us,” he warned. “I’m more scared now than before. After what happened to me, I worry it could happen to others.”