Palestinian Oscar winner "Hamdan Ballal" attacked by Israeli settlers, according to eyewitnesses, a group of Israeli settlers surrounded Hamdan's village and home and attacked him.

 An armed group of more than 2 dozen Israeli settlers in the West Bank surrounded and attacked Susiya village in the Masafer Yatta area. Oscar winner Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal also lives in Susiya village in the Masafer Yatta area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.According to the "Center for Jewish Nonviolence group", "a group of attackers also attacked Hamdan Ballal, in which he was injured and his head started bleeding. Later, the Israeli army took Hamdan Ballal into their custody in an ambulance. The Israeli army has arrested another Palestinian."

Co-director "Basel Adra" said in a statement, "We saw Israeli soldiers taking Hamdan Ballal into custody. More than two dozen people attacked the village, while soldiers in Israeli uniforms pointed their guns at the Palestinians." Basel Adra also said, "We came back from the Oscars and since then we have been attacked every day." Co-director Yuval Abraham informed on X, "'A group of masked men with KKK-like weapons were caught on camera attacking No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal (still missing)."

According to other local reports, dozens of people suddenly started throwing stones at houses in the village on Monday evening. These attackers started breaking windows of houses, water tanks and car windows. Although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement in which they did not point out the name of Mr. Ballal, the IDF said that three Palestinians and one Israeli were detained after being suspected of throwing stones at security forces. Activists from the "Center for Jewish Nonviolence group" said that they had gone to the village to report the incident. While they were reporting, they were also attacked. The settlers broke the windows of their car and hit them with sticks.

Who is Hamdan Ballal?

Hamdan Ballal was born in 1989 in Susiya village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamdan Balllal follow Islaam. Hamdan has been working as a human rights activist. Hamdan also participated in the "Humans of Masafer Yatta" project as a human rights activist. And he has been continuously reporting cases of human rights violations in the West Bank area for B’Tselem. Hamdan Ballal's name came into the limelight when he and his three other colleagues Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor produced the documentary "No Other Land". "No Other Land" has received 100% positive reviews, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 8.9/10.

The documentary "No Other Land" has been awarded the Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards 2025.

Apart from this, his documentary was also awarded the Best Documentary at the 78th British Academy Film Awards. His documentary was given the Panorama Audience Award at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. The International Documentary Association has honored him as the Best Director.

Controversy about the documentary film "No Other Land"

The documentary "No Other Land" shows the hardships and struggles of Palestinian citizens in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This documentary was recorded between 2019 and 2023. The area which has been filmed in this documentary is disputed because that area are under the control of Israel but Palestine also claims it and considers Israel's control as illegal occupation. In the documentary "No Other Land" also Hamdan has tried to show that the human rights of Palestinian citizens are violated by the Israeli army in this area. And they are constantly harassed. During the Palestine and Israel conflict, this area becomes a war zone.

It is shown in the documentary that Hamdan's friend Yuval Abraham is living his life with liberty. And he has every kind of freedom because he is a Jew. But other Palestinian Muslims have no freedom. The Israeli army often demolishes the houses of Palestinians. Israel oppresses the Palestinians and tries to expel them from the region in order to keep control of it. The director of this documentary has come under fire from Israeli Jews due to its content.

Criticism and condemn

The documentary has been criticized by Israel and other allies. Israel has rejected the documentary, calling it a conspiracy to defame Israel.

Israeli Culture Minister "Miki Zohar" reacted strongly to it, saying, "Freedom of expression is an important value, but turning the defamation of Israel into a tool for international propaganda is not art, it is subversion against the State of Israel, especially in the wake of the October 7 massacre and the ongoing war".

British broadcaster, journalist, and TV producer “Jonathan Sacerdoti” condemned the use of the Israeli song "I Have No Other Land" in the film, which he considered cultural appropriation and erasure of Jewish historical land claims in the region.

German Culture Minister “Claudia Roth” described the acceptance speeches given for best documentary of “Abraham and Edra” at the Berlin International Film Festival as "shocking and one-sided" and questioned the veracity and objectivity of the documentary.

Cultural Affairs Senator “Joe Chialo” called the documentary an "attempt at self-righteous anti-Israel propaganda that has no place at the Berlin."

“The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)” declared that the film violates the BDS movement's anti-normalization guidelines, which state that "Palestinians do not need recognition, legitimacy, or permission from Israelis to tell our history, our present, our experiences, our dreams, and our resistance." Hollywood has long dehumanized Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, people of color, and indigenous communities, PACBI said.