Palestinian Filmmaker Hamdan Ballal Attacked Following Oscar Win

Hamdan Ballal was assaulted by masked attackers in his home village of Susya during Ramadan and has reportedly been detained by Israeli forces, raising concerns about violence against Palestinians.

In a disturbing incident that has drawn international attention, Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian director behind the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," was brutally assaulted in his home village of Susya, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Eyewitnesses reported that a group of at least 20 masked individuals, primarily teenagers wielding rocks, sticks, and knives, targeted Ballal as he broke his fast during Ramadan on Monday evening.

Joseph Kaplan Weinger, a volunteer aiding vulnerable communities against settler violence, encountered the attack and described the assailants shouting mock holiday blessings while they harmed local residents. Weinger tried to alert nearby Israeli soldiers with his car horn but claimed the military forces did not intervene and hindered his access to the scene. He later discovered blood on the ground, indicating the severity of the attack.

Ballal, aged 37, was among three Palestinians detained amid the chaos; the Israeli military cited “mutual rock hurling” between Palestinians and Israeli settlers as the incident unfolded. Leah Zemel, the lawyer representing the detainees, noted that they were taken for medical care before being interrogated but lacked information on the grounds for their detention. In a defiant statement, the Israeli military referred to the attackers as “terrorists” and described the confrontation as a response to alleged threats against Israeli citizens. The incident has intensified scrutiny on ongoing violence and human rights violations in the region, particularly against Palestinian individuals and communities.