Local witnesses in the occupied West Bank have described in detail the harrowing and chaotic moments when Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked their village and arrested Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land", on Monday.
Ballal's friends and neighbors said he was brutally beaten outside his home in Susiya while trying to protect his wife and children, before soldiers detained him and took him to a military camp. According to the latest reports, Ballal was released on Tuesday and is now receiving treatment in hospital.
The Israeli military claimed Palestinians had thrown rocks at Israeli citizens near Susiya, leading to clashes. However, witnesses insist that Ballal was specifically targeted and that the assault was part of a broader pattern of violence by settlers, often carried out with military backing.
"What happened was an attack that nearly killed Hamdan, in front of his home and in front of his children, by one of the settlers, the army commander in the village of Susiya. Prior to this, there had been an attack by settlers on the neighboring residences near Hamdan's home, these attacks are a daily occurrence," said Imad Abu Hawash, a staff member from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
Basil Adra, a close friend of Ballal who also served one of the acclaimed documentary film's four co-directors, described the attack in chilling detail, and told of the scale of violence which unfolded during the incident.
"They came straight to Hamdan's front door and he was attacked when he tried to protect his wife and children from around 20 masked Israeli settlers who had their faces covered. They started smashing vehicles and [tried to cut off] the village's water supply from the wells and pipes. They came to the door of his house and started beating him. And then soldiers arrived and abducted him to a military camp. The attack had the support and protection of the army and lasted around an hour. They vandalized property and assaulted civilians. The army opened fire on Palestinians who tried to protect themselves, they continued the attack inside the village for an hour. They personally targeted Hamdan, and those who protected him. [Settlers and soldiers] beat them – soldiers used their weapons to beat them, whilst settlers kicked and punched, causing bruising," he said.
Khaled Al-Shanran, a neighbor and eyewitness, said the Israeli army brutally stopped him from helping the stricken director and said he was even lucky not to be injured amid gunfire.
"We heard about what happened to Hamdan, and when we rushed to his house, he was being beaten by settlers and the army. The army refused to allow us to help Hamdan and opened fire on us. Then, army and police vehicles arrived and expelled us from the area. I was attacked by settlers and the army, and when my father and brothers tried to help me, the army opened fire on them, prevented them from doing so, and threatened to shoot at my feet," he recalled.
Released last year, "No Other Land" gained worldwide attention after winning the coveted Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film earlier this month.
Filmed over a span of four years up to 2023, the documentary captures the displacement and destruction faced by a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank following the declaration of an Israeli "firing zone" on their land.
Local villagers recall terrifying moments of violent Israeli attack during Oscar-winning director's arrest
Local villagers recall terrifying moments of violent Israeli attack during Oscar-winning director's arrest
Local villagers recall terrifying moments of violent Israeli attack during Oscar-winning director's arrest
