Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian filmmaker who co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was released on Tuesday after spending 24 hours in Israeli detention.
Hamdan Ballal was released today after spending nearly twenty-four hours in Israeli detention. pic.twitter.com/cv268ySUe0
— +972 Magazine (@972mag) March 25, 2025
Ballal, who was released alongside two other Palestinians, told reporters that Israeli settlers attacked him outside his home after he filmed the damage they had caused. He said he was later blindfolded and detained at an army base for 24 hours, where he was forced to sleep under a freezing air conditioner.
He had bruises on his face and bloodstains on his clothes. “All my body is in pain,” Ballal told the Associated Press. “I realized they were attacking me specifically… When they say ‘Oscar’, you understand. When they say your name, you understand.”
His co-director, Yuval Abraham, who first reported his arrest on Monday, later shared a video on X showing masked settlers involved in the attack. He captioned the post, “The group of armed KKK-like masked settlers that lynched No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal caught here on camera.”
The group of armed KKK-like masked settlers that lynched No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal (still missing), caught here on camera. pic.twitter.com/kFGFxSEanY
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 24, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said violent clashes broke out between Israelis and Pelstinians near Susiya after “several terrorists threw stones at Israeli civilians and damaged their vehicles.”
The IDF said three Palestinians and one Israeli were arrested.
Ballal and Abraham accepted the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature earlier this month for No Other Land, which shows the struggles of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, an area under Israeli military control. The film has not been released widely in the U.S.
