Hamdan Ballal, Palestinian co-director of the documentary No Other Land, has been missing after the Israeli army arrested him. This is following an attack by settlers on him and other Palestinians on 24 March 2025.
How was Hamdan Ballal attacked by settlers?
The Associated Press reported that Israeli settlers beat Hamdan Ballal, citing multiple eyewitness accounts.
Another Palestinian co-director of No Other Land, Basel Adra, witnessed the whole situation, starting from the attack until the detention.
According to Adra, around 20 settlers invaded and attacked the village of Susiya. The identities of the settlers are unknown, especially since many of them were masked.
What did Adra say about the attack?
Speaking to The Associated Press, Adra talked about the Israeli attack and how he and Hamdan Ballal were targeted.
“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us. This might be their [Israelis’] revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment,” this was claimed by Arda.
“There were dozens of settlers together with the Israeli soldiers and they were threatening us with weapons. 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” Adra has also told The Guardian.
This attack by Israeli settlers was then followed by the Israeli army making several arrests.
Hamdan Ballal being arrested by the Israeli army
Following the attack on Hamdan Ballal, Israeli forces arrested him. He was one of three Palestinians who were detained by the troops, according to The Associated Press.
They were accused of throwing rocks at a young settler, but they deny these allegations, according to Euro News.
Lea Tsemel, the attorney representing Ballal and the other detainees, said they were detained in the village of Susiya.
While Israeli police told Tsemel that the three detainees were being held at a military base to receive treatment, Tsemel made it clear that she had not been able to contact her clients. In addition to these initial details, Adra disclosed more information about what happened.
The details behind Hamdan Ballal’s arrest
In a phone conversation with The Associated Press, Adra provided details of the entire event. According to the co-director, an Israeli settler went to Ballal’s house along with the Israeli army.
After this, Ballal’s wife, Lamia Ballal, claimed that she heard her husband being beaten up and screaming “I’m dying.”
She told Reuters, “The settlers attacked him [Ballal] and started beating him, and then they arrested him, we do not know anything about him.”
“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,” Adra told The Guardian.
Adra has also told The Associated Press that after Ballal was attacked, he was led, handcuffed and blindfolded by Israeli soldiers into a military vehicle. An anonymous eyewitness supported some of these details.
The details being confirmed by other eyewitnesses
Aside from Adra, other eyewitnesses confirmed the events and the attack on Hamdan Ballal.
Joseph, an activist from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, told The Guardian “They [the Israeli settlers] started throwing stones towards Palestinians and destroyed a water tank near Hamdan’s house.”
See footage of the attack here.
“The settlers destroyed his [Ballal’s] car with stones and slashed one of the tyres. All the windows and windshields were broken,” said Raviv, another eyewitness, to The Guardian.
What did the Israeli military say about the arrest?
Since Hamdan Ballal was arrested, the Israeli military claimed that they arrested three Palestinians who were accused of throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers.
The military also claimed that they arrested an Israeli civilian as well because of being involved in a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians.
“The forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police,” said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to The Guardian.
Witnesses who spoke to The Associated Press denied these claims.
Where is Hamdan Ballal?
According to the Israeli military, Ballal and those who were arrested with him were transferred to the police to be questioned.
This contradicts what Israeli forces told Tsemel, as they said the detainees were receiving medical treatment. The latest update was that the Palestinian director was released.
Yuval Abraham, the co-director of the film, said on X that “Hamdan Ballal is free and is about to go home to his family” His release comes after he was detained for over 24 hours.
The news was also confirmed by Euro News who shared a statement said by Ballal after his release. “I was blindfolded for 24 hours. All the night I was freezing. It was a room, I couldn’t see anything… I heard the voice of soldiers laughing about me,” he said.
The publication also stated that the director had “bruises on his face and blood on his clothes.”
All these events come after Hamdan Ballal and his co-directors’ film received critical acclaim. In addition to this, it drew criticism from Israelis, according to Euro News.
The Guardian also reported how Israel’s culture minister described the film’s Oscar win as “a sad moment for the world of cinema.”
No Other Land is a documentary film that documents the residents of the Masafer Yatta area as they struggle to stop the Israeli military from destroying their villages.
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