Just weeks after receiving international recognition for his documentary “No Other Land”, Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal has now made headlines for a tragic reason. Ballal was reportedly beaten by an Israeli settler and detained by Israeli soldiers during a violent incident in his West Bank village, Susiya.
Ballal, whose film tells the story of his village’s struggle against Israeli occupation, appeared in public on Tuesday with a bruised face and blood-stained clothes, recounting the horrifying details of what happened to him the previous night.
Brutal Attack During Ramadan
According to Ballal, the attack happened on Monday night during the holy month of Ramadan, while residents were breaking their fast. About two dozen Israeli settlers, accompanied by police, entered the village, throwing stones and damaging property.
Soon after, around 30 soldiers arrived. While trying to document the damage, Ballal says he went back to his home and locked himself inside with his wife and three children. But one settler — identified by Ballal as Shem Tov Luski, who has threatened him before — approached his house with two soldiers.
Ballal says Luski beat him on the head, knocking him to the ground, then kicked him repeatedly, while soldiers allegedly joined in by hitting his legs with a gun and pointing weapons at him.
His wife, Lamia Ballal, heard him scream from inside, “I’m dying!”
Detained and Mistreated
After the attack, Ballal and two other Palestinians were detained by the military. He says he was blindfolded and held for over 20 hours, seated on a floor with a cold air conditioner blasting.
“I was freezing. Every time a new guard came, they kicked or hit me,” Ballal said. “I don’t speak Hebrew, but I kept hearing them say my name and the word ‘Oscar’.”
After being transferred to a police station, the three were released the following day. Ballal was taken to a hospital in Hebron, where doctors found multiple bruises, a cut on his chin, and signs of physical trauma.
Settler Denies Assault
The settler, Shem Tov Luski, denied attacking Ballal, instead accusing him and others of throwing stones at his car. He admitted going to the village but claimed he only guided soldiers to Ballal’s house. He said Ballal broke his car window and injured him.
When asked for proof, Luski said he had video footage of the incident but refused to show it, using abusive language.
Not the First Incident
This is not Ballal’s first clash with Luski. A viral video from August shows Luski shouting and threatening Ballal, saying, “This is my land. God gave it to me.” In that video, Luski even references Sde Teiman, a detention center accused of human rights violations, including rape by soldiers.
The Documentary: No Other Land
“No Other Land,” co-directed by Ballal and Basel Adra, is a joint Palestinian-Israeli production. The film highlights life in Masafer Yatta, a region in the southern West Bank declared a military training zone by Israel in the 1980s. Since then, around 1,000 Palestinians have resisted forced displacement and frequent demolitions of their homes and water systems.
The film won critical acclaim, including an Oscar, but it has also faced backlash. In one case, a theater in Miami Beach was threatened with closure for screening the film.
Spike in Violence Since Oscar Win
According to co-director Basel Adra, violence in the region has increased significantly since the film gained global attention.
“We’re living in dark days here,” Adra said. “No one is stopping this.”
Growing Tensions in the West Bank
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements considered illegal under international law. Around 3 million Palestinians live under military rule, with limited autonomy granted to the Palestinian Authority.
Since the recent Gaza war, violence in the West Bank has increased. Israeli military operations and settler attacks have reportedly displaced thousands and killed hundreds of Palestinians.