A few weeks ago, Hamdan stood on a platform in Ballal Los Angeles, which accepted an Oscar for the film “No other land”, a documentary that reflects his West Bank village struggle against the occupation of Israel.
On Tuesday (March 25, 2025), Mr. Ballal – His face hurt and clothes were still seen with blood – The Associated Press How he was beaten up heavily before the night by an Israeli settling and soldiers. The settler said, during a settling attack on his village, “like a football” kicked his head.
The soldiers then detained him and two other Palestinians. Mr. Balal said that he was blindfolded for more than 20 hours, sitting on the floor under a blasting air conditioner. He said that whenever he comes in his guard shift, the soldiers kicked or hit him with a stick. Mr. Ballal does not speak Hebrew, but he said that he heard him saying his name and the word “Oscar”.
“I realized that they were specially attacking me,” he said in an interview at a West Bank Hospital on Tuesday (March 25, 2025). “When they say ‘Oscar’, you understand. When they say your name, you understand.”
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to the claims that Mr. Ball was beaten by the soldiers. The settler who identified Mr. Ballal as his attacker, Shem Tow Lusky – who has threatened Mr. Baille in the past – he refused or the soldiers defeated him and told him that AP He and other village Palestinians threw stones in their car. He said he did not know that Mr. Ballal was the Oscar winner.
The Israeli army said on Monday (March 24, 2025) that it had detained three Palestinians, which along with the rocks were released to an Israeli citizen, which was soon released. Mr. Ball refused to throw stones.
The attack took place on Monday (March 24, 2025) in the Southern West Bank village of Susia. It is part of the Masafar Yatta region depicted in “No Other Land”, which depicts Palestinian residents settled attacks and efforts to remove army plans to demolish their houses.
The witnesses say that around the sunset, as the residents were finishing Ramadan fast throughout the day, the police along with about two dozen Jewish settlers entered the village, threw stones in the houses and break the property, the witnesses say. About 30 soldiers arrived soon. In a activist group supporting the villagers, Jewish Israelis are being attacked by the Jewish Israelis, as well as attacking their car with sticks and stones.
Mr. Balal said that he filmed some losses caused by settlers. Then he went to his house and locked him inside with his wife and three young children.
“I told myself if they would attack me, if they kill me, I will protect my family,” he said.
Mr. Balal said that Mr. Lusky contacted two soldiers. He said that Mr. Lukcy hit him on his head, knocked on the ground and kicked him in his head and punched him. At the same time, a soldier hit him with his gun butt, while the other took his arms on him, he said.
The director’s wife Lamia Ballal said that she was walking inside with her children and heard her shouting, “I’m dying!”
Mr. Lukcy told AP that he and another settled companion had come to the village to help the settler, who said that he was being attacked by Palestinian stone throwers. He said that dozens of masked Palestinians attacked his car with stones, including Mr. Ballal. “He broke my window, threw a stone on my chest,” he said.
He said that when the soldiers arrived, they motivated him to identify him as one of the attackers to take him to Mr. Ballal’s house, but he refused whether he killed him or the settlers attacked any property in the village. Mr. Lukcy said that he had footage of night events, but when asked to show it to AP, he responded with a string of explains.
On Tuesday (March 25, 2025), a small bloodshed could be seen outside Mr. Ballal’s house, and the family car windows were shattered. Neighbors pointed to a nearby water tank, stating that they had punched them by the settlers.
Attorney Lee Tsmel, who represented Mr. Banglal and two other Palestinians detained with him, said he was taken on an army base, where he only received minimal care for his injuries from the attack. He said that he had no access to several hours after his arrest.
Mr. Balal said that he did not know where he was being kept, could not see anything and was “cold” for hours spent by blindfolding under the air conditioner.
The three were shifted to an Israeli police station in West Bank Basti in Kirat Araba and released on Tuesday (March 25, 2025).
“My whole body is pain,” he told AP immediately after his release, as he was lame, walking towards a hospital in Palestinian city of Hebron.
Hospital doctors said that Mr. Ballal cut friction on his body, under his eye and cut his chin, but there was no internal injury. Two other detained Palestinians also suffered minor injuries.
In a widely broadcast video from August, Sri Lusky and many other masked settlers are seen arguing with Mr. Ballal. Shri Luksi shouts impurity at him and tries to provoke him in a fight.
“This is my land, I was given it by God,” called Shri Lusky. “It won’t be good next time.” He taunts Mr. Balal with the possibility of sending a notorious military jail, SDE Teemon, a notorious military jail, who was arrested from Gaza, where five soldiers have been accused of raping a captive with a knife.
“Rape for a high reason,” he says in the Hebrew, then blows a kiss to Mr. Balal.
A joint Israeli-Filistinian production “no other land”, the situation in Masafar Yatta, which the Israeli army nominated in the 1980s nominated as a live-fire training area and ordered the removal of the inhabitants, mostly Arab Bedouins. Around 1,000 residents remain largely in place, but soldiers regularly come to demolish houses, tents, water tanks and olive gardens.
The settlers have also established the outpost around the area and have destroyed the Palestinian property many times. Groups of Palestinians and Rights say that the Israeli army usually closes one eye or interfere with the settlers.
The film has drawn Ire in Israel and abroad, when Miami Beach proposed to abolish the lease of a film theater that displayed it.
Basal Adra, one of the film’s co-directors and a major Palestinian activist in the region, said that since the Oscars won, there has been a big increase in the attacks of settlers and Israeli forces.
“We are living in Gaza, and all the dark days of the West Bank,” he said. “No one is stopping it.”
Israel captured the West Bank in the Middle East War of 1967 with Gaza Strip and Eastern Jerusalem. Palestinians want all three for their future positions.
Israel has built over 100 settlements, houses for more than 500,000 settlers who have Israel citizenship. Most international communities consider settlements to be illegal.
The West Bank resides under 3 million Palestinians open-folded Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administration of population centers.
The war in Gaza has increased violence in the West Bank, carrying out the Israeli military operations, killing hundreds of Palestinians and displaced thousands of people. Along with settling violence, Palestinian attacks on Israel have also increased.
Published – March 26, 2025 10:30 AM IST
