Oscar-winning Palestinian director missing after being ‘assaulted and beaten up’ by Israeli settlers

Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal has been detained by the Israeli military, according to reports.

Activists have shared that Ballal, who won an Oscar this year for his documentary No Other Land, was attacked by a group of 10 to 20 Israeli settlers.

Yuval Abraham, the co-director of the film, tweeted 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 to his head and stomach, with bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called for and took him. There has been no sign of him since."

Reports indicate that Ballal was blindfolded and detained in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Abraham later clarified on social media: "Note: Hamdan was assaulted and beaten, not murdered. My use of ‘lynched’ was a mistranslation from Hebrew (English isn’t my first language). He’s injured and being held at a police station in a settlement. They have not allowed his lawyer to speak to him yet, so we don’t know more."

Abraham also posted videos on X showing the alleged attackers and claimed that the group continues to target American activists.

A witness to the incident told The New York Times: "Soldiers just stood around. Later, when we got there, we saw his blood on the ground."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provided a statement to Sky News: "Several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles near Susya." The IDF described a "mutual rock-hurling" incident between Palestinians and Israelis at the scene.

"In response, 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 Israeli police. An Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and was evacuated to receive medical treatment. Contrary to claims, no Palestinian was apprehended from inside an ambulance."

No Other Land tells the story of Palestinian activist Adra, who has been fighting against the forced displacement of his community by Israel’s military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank, since childhood. The film documents the destruction of his home as soldiers tear down homes and evict families to make way for a military firing zone.

Filmed over four years between 2019 and 2023, the documentary draws on a two-decade archive of videos shot by Adra’s family and neighbors.