Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land (2024), has been arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, in his home village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, after being brutally attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers. The news was confirmed by his fellow co-director, Yuval Abraham, who shared the alarming update on social media. “A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land,” Abraham wrote on X. “They beat him, and he has injuries to his head and stomach, bleeding.” He further revealed, “Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called and took him. No sign of him since.”
Ballal’s arrest and assault are part of a broader pattern of escalating violence against activists and supporters of Palestine. A harrowing video from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence captured masked settlers attacking activists in a dusty field at night. The footage shows a settler forcefully shoving and striking two activists, who quickly retreat to their car while calling for safety. “Back to the car, back to the car!” one of them shouts as rocks slam against the vehicle. “Car window was broken,” the driver says as they speed away. The masked settlers also targeted American-Jewish activists, hurling stones and sticks, smashing car windows, and slashing tires.
The crackdown on Palestinian activists and their allies has intensified, with figures like student activist Mahmoud Khalil currently detained for “exercising his right to free speech while advocating for a free Palestine.” Similarly, Ranjani Srinivasan was forced to flee to Canada after her U.S. student visa was revoked amid a government crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters. Srinivasan feared for her safety after immigration authorities arrived at her door, highlighting the increasing repression as airstrikes continue across Gaza despite January’s ceasefire. These events underscore the urgent need to address the ongoing oppression faced by Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In this context, No Other Land—which recently earned Oscar recognition—carries even greater significance. Filmed between 2019 and 2023, the documentary chronicles the destruction of Masafer Yatta by Israeli forces and the unlikely alliance between Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval. It exposes the Israeli military’s forced displacement tactics and the community’s resistance against the imposition of a “firing zone” on their land. With Ballal’s arrest, the film’s message is more urgent than ever, shedding light on the continued struggle of Palestinians in the face of systemic violence.
