A Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has been arrested by the Israeli army after masked settlers attacked his house.
According to five Jewish American activists who witnessed the attack, Hamdan Ballal, one of the four directors of the the film that documented the destruction of villages in the West Bank, was surrounded and attacked by a group of about 15 armed settlers in Susya in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron.
“They started throwing stones towards Palestinians and destroyed a water tank near Hamdan’s house,” said Joseph, of the activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, who asked not use his full name for security reasons.
The witnesses said that a group of soldiers arrived at the scene alongside other settlers dressed in military uniform, who chased Hamdan to his house and handed him over to the military.
‘‘The settlers destroyed his car with stones and slashed one of the tyres,’’ another witness, Raviv, told the Guardian. ‘‘All the windows and windshields were broken.’’
Ballal was injured by the settlers and taken by the Israeli army.
Members of the activist group filmed the attack then entered the house and saw blood over the floor, which a family membersaid was spilled when Hamdan was hit on the head.
The director, and another man – identified only as Nasser – were arrested and taken to a police station. It was not clear why.
When contacted by the Guardian, the Israel Defense Forces said it was looking into the incident.
Basel Adra, another of No Other Land’s four directors, who are all from Israel and Palestine, told the Guardian he thought the escalating settler violence might be a response to the international recognition won by the documentary.
“Palestinians in the village have been under physical attack by settlers almost daily. The settlers’ violence is increasing here. Maybe it’s a revenge for the movie and the Oscar,” he said.
Adra, who witnessed the attack in Susya described the violence as “horrific”. “There were dozens of settlers together with the Israeli soldiers and they were threatening us with weapons,” he said. “The police were there from the beginning and did not intervene. While the soldiers were pointing their weapons at us, the settlers started attacking the houses of the Palestinians.
“Hamdan tried to protect his family and the settlers attacked him. Soldiers started shooting in the air to prevent anyone to help Hamdan. He was shouting for help. They let the settlers attack him and then the army abducted him.”
Nasser’s Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham posted on X: “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.”
This is not the first time that directors and member of crew of No Other Land have been attacked by settlers.
Last February, Adra was also surrounded and attacked by masked Israeli settlers.
Earlier on Monday, Adra wrote on X that “armed and masked settlers” were “leading a terror attack on Masafer Yatta” as he was writing.
“Dozens of settlers arrived at my friend Naser’s house in Susya, throwing stones at his home, smashing his vehicle, and slashing [the vehicle’s tyres with knives],” he added.
“We risked our life to film,” he said, noting that “soldiers are ordering us to stay inside our homes in the village, while those who attack and could’ve slaughtered the residents in their homes roam freely, masked, around the village”.
Israel’s culture minister has called the Oscar win for the joint Palestinian-Israeli documentary “a sad moment for the world of cinema”.
