Palestinian Oscar winner is lynched by Israeli settlers and arrested

Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of the Oscar -winning “Floorless” documentary, was lynched by Israeli settlers and later detained by Israel’s defense forces (FDI) military in the occupied West Bank. The information was released by the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” on Monday (24).

The attack occurred near the Israeli settlement of Susya, where Ballal and other activists were present. According to Yuval Abraham, Israeli journalist and documentary co-director, Ballal was violently beaten by settlers and taken from a soldiers’ ambulance while receiving medical attention. “He had head and belly injuries and was bleeding,” Abraham said.

Witnesses told the Associated Press that a group of 10 to 20 masked settlers attacked Ballal and other pro-Palestinian Jewish activists with stones and sticks, as well as depredating their vehicles. “We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was made blindfolded,” said activist Josh Kimelman.

Brazilian deputy Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ) repudiated what happened: “It is a horror that Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary ‘No other Land’, who denounced the destruction of his community in Masafer Yatta, is now a victim of the same violence that exposed the world.

Increasing violence in the West Bank

Since the beginning of the year, after the end of a short truce between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza, conflicts have expanded to the West Bank (which is not ruled by Hamas) and intensified. Israel has conducted large military operations, claiming to combat terrorist groups. However, thousands of Palestinians were displaced, and entire infrastructures were destroyed. In January, Israeli war tanks entered the city of Jenin for the first time in over 20 years.

There are currently over 140 Israeli settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem, housing about 450,000 settlers. Although the presence of these communities is considered illegal by international law, Israel continues to expand them.

“Floorless” and Masafer Yatta’s fight

The documentary “Floorless” portrays the lives of residents of Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian region who suffers constant attacks and expulsions from the FDI, the Israeli army. The film is jointly directed by two Palestinians, Hamdan Ballal and Basel Adra, and two Israelis, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

In the 1980s, Israel designated Masafer Yatta as a military training zone and ordered the removal of its residents, mostly Arab Bedouids. Currently, about 1,000 people still reside in the region, but face the constant destruction of houses, tents and plantations.

Hamdan Ballal’s situation remains uncertain, and human rights groups require their immediate release. The FDI said they are investigating the case but have not provided additional details.