Who is Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Hamdan Ballal? Why was he detained by Israel?

Hamdan Ballal, the co-director of Oscar winning documentary No Other Land was beaten up and detained on Monday by a group of Israeli settlers in his village of Susiya. Ballal is a Palestinian filmmaker from Susiya, a village in the West Bank.

Who is Hamdan Ballal?

Hamdan Ballal is a filmmaker and and activist from Susiya, a rural Palestinian village. Ballal has participated in a project named "Humans of Masafer Yatta" and had volunteered for B'Tselem, an organisation that documents human rights violations in Palestinian areas.

His directorial work includes No Other Land, which bagged 'Best Documentary Feature' award at the Academy Awards.

What happened to Hamdan Ballal?

Hamdan Ballal was attacked by settlers on Monday, at his village Susiya.

Co-director Yuval Abraham took to his official X account and said a group of settlers beat Ballal and was detained by the Israeli military. His location is still unknown, he said.

"A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film no other land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since," Abraham posted on X.

Two other Palestinians were detained along with Ballal, and as per a report by AP, they have been taken to the military base for medical treatment, the publication reported quoting attorney Lea Tsemel, as told by the police.

Abraham posted a video online that shows masked men attacking the vehicle. "The masked settler in the video is part of the lynch mob that attacked Hamdan’s village, they continued to attack American activists, breaking their car with stones. Hamdan’s location is still unknown," he wrote.

In a video following the previous one, a masked man can be seen hurling a stone at the car. "The group of armed KKK-like masked settlers that lynched No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal (still missing), caught here on camera," the caption read.

Another co-director of the film Basel Adra witnessed the horrific incident and revealed that they have been attacked every day since their big win at the Oscars.

"This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment," Adra told AP.

Adra further stated that a settler had been attacking the village frequently. The settlers broke into the village after the residents broke their fast for Ramadan.

Recalling the incident, Adra said that Ballal's wife heard him say "I'm dying" while the settlers beat him after invading his house, as reported by the publication.

Ballal was taken into a military vehicle after they beat him up. He was handcuffed and blindfolded, Adra noted.

Adra took to his X account, and stated that the attack and lynching of Ballal is how they are erasing Masafer Yatta.

"I'm standing with Karam, Hamdan's 7 year old son, near the blood of Hamdan's in his house, after settlers lynched him. Hamdan, co-director of our film No Other Land, is still missing after soldiers abducted him, injured and bleeding. This is how they erase Masafer Yatta," Adra wrote.

Activists of the Centre for Jewish Nonviolence were also assaulted by the settlers, as per the report. The activists were forced to go inside their cars and evacuate the area.

No Other Land, a film on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

No Other Land, a film showing the alliance that develops between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist amid their peoples' conflict on the occupied West Bank, won the documentary feature film Oscar recently.

The film's co-directors, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, spent five years making the film, which shows Israeli soldiers tearing down homes and evicting residents to create a military training ground and the encroachment of Jewish settlers on the Palestinian community.

"No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people," Adra said.

(With Reuters inputs)