Three weeks ago, Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal stood in the world's spotlight in Hollywood, winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary. This honor symbolizes his outstanding achievements in cinematic art and represents the recognition of Palestinian films on the international stage. This recognition also brought hope for increased awareness of Palestinian issues.
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03-26, 2025On Tuesday, the camera focused on him again, but this time, he was covering his injured face, tattered and staggering away, after being detained by Israel for nearly 24 hours. This starkly contrasted with his glorious moment in Hollywood three weeks prior, drawing international attention. This sudden change of events has sparked concerns about the safety and treatment of Palestinian artists.
The night before, he told reporters gathered outside that "settlers and soldiers are attacking my house." According to the Associated Press, he added that they started "beating me and threatening me with guns." He also stated that soldiers fired three shots into the air. During his detention, he said he was blindfolded and placed under cold air conditioning, and soldiers joked about his Oscar win. The details he provided paint a disturbing picture of his experience.
Not long ago, outside the hilltop farmhouse he shares with his wife and children, the tires of a gray family car were slashed, the windows were smashed, and the windshield wipers were torn off. This indicates that the violence on Monday night was severe, taking place on the edge of Susya, a southern West Bank territory under occupation. Hamdan's co-director, Basel Adra, was outside the house on the phone, anxiously trying to get news of his friend's detention. He told me he heard about the trouble last night and came to help. The support from his colleagues highlights the close-knit nature of the community.
Adra said: "I saw about 15 settlers vandalizing one of the houses, smashing cars, puncturing water tanks, and throwing stones at anyone who moved." He also mentioned: "The situation was dangerous, and I feared for my life. I started telling people to run, and we started running in different directions." He said Hamdan locked himself inside, trying to protect his family, but he realized he was bleeding and needed urgent medical attention, and then he was arrested. The urgency of the situation underscores the immediate threat faced by the residents.
Hamdan is a well-known journalist and activist. Colleagues say he has been attacked by settlers in the past. The Israel Defense Forces stated that Monday's violence began when "terrorists threw stones at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles." "Subsequently, a fierce conflict broke out, with Palestinians and Israelis throwing stones at each other." This conflicting account highlights the differing perspectives on the events.
Josh Kinnaman also came to help. He is a 28-year-old American who has been living at the Jewish Nonviolence Center in the West Bank for three months. He disputed the IDF's account of how the violence started. "All I know is that Palestinian shepherds were harassed by settlers, and then a group of settlers started attacking the houses here." Josh from New Jersey described how his car and his colleagues were attacked when they arrived. His presence as an international observer adds another layer to the situation.
"Three of our friends got out of the car and were immediately attacked by settlers," he said. "One person punched one of my friends in the face and neck, another was hit with a stick, and she was pushed. They started throwing stones at our car." Josh believes the violence was intentionally initiated. "It is very likely that this attack was planned. It was definitely coordinated. You can't see a group of 20 settlers acting the way they did without prior planning, so they had specific people in mind." This suggests a premeditated nature to the violence.
Basel Adra said that settler violence has increased here in recent months. "Since the beginning of this year, there have been 45 attacks - just in this small village, not the entire Masafer Yatta." "It's like hundreds of attacks, something happens around the community every day, making us live in fear and panic." He also stated: "We are innocent, people are living in our homes, surrounded by these terrorist settlers with guns and cars, and the army and police don't support us." The escalation of violence paints a grim picture of the current reality.
Basel had just heard that Hamdan would be released after paying bail, but he will go to the hospital for further treatment before going home. Basel showed me the Oscar trophy they won earlier this month in Los Angeles. He had high hopes for this global recognition, believing it might help improve the lives of people here. "It's disappointing," he said. "The film reached the biggest stage in the world, and the name Masafer Yatta became widely known, but it hasn't helped our lives locally." The contrast between international acclaim and local struggles is stark and disheartening.
