Hamdan Ballal, film director who won Oscar, is arrested

Israeli soldiers have violated one of the documentary co-directors “No Other Land”, who won the Oscar Award, before the Israeli army arrested him, according to two of his directors and other witnesses.

Hamdan Ballal was among the three Palestinians who were arrested in the village of Susia, according to their lawyer, Leah Tsemel.

Police told her they were being held on a military base for medical treatment, but Tsemel stressed Tuesday morning that he was unable to contact them and has no information on their whereabouts, broadcast. Periscope.

The other director, Basel Adra, witnessed the arrest of Ballal. He said that about dozens of soldiers, some wearing masks, some armed, and some in Israeli uniform attacked the village. The soldiers who arrived pointed to Palestinians as soldiers continued throwing stones.

“We've come from Oscars and every day since then there's been attacks on us. This could be their revenge on us for making the movie. It looks like punishment”, Adra told the Associated Press.

The Israeli Army said it has detained three Palestinians suspected of throwing stones at forces and an Israeli civilian involved in a “violent fight” between Israelis and Palestinians. That claim has been rejected by witnesses interviewed by the Associated Press.

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Ballal and Adra, both of Masafer Yatta, produced this joint Palestinian-Israel documentary with Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

The documentary has won a series of international awards, starting at the International Film Festival in Berlin in 2024.

Adra said soldiers entered the village Monday evening, shortly after residents had broken the daily fast for the holy month of Ramadan. A soldier who, according to Adra, often attacks the village of ʹ headed to the Ballal House along with the army, and soldiers shot into the air. Ballal's wife heard her husband beaten out and screaming “is dying”, according to Adra.

Adra then saw soldiers pull Ballal out of the house, cuffed and blindfolded, putting him in a military vehicle. Speaking to the AP on the phone, he said Ballal's blood was still scattered on the ground outside his front door.

Some of the details of Adra's confession were supported by another witness who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of revenge.

Israel conquered the West Coast in the Middle East war in 1967, along with the Gaza and East Jerusalem Belt. Palestinians love these three territories for their future country and view the expansion of Israeli settlements as a major obstacle to the solution of two states.

Israel has built over 100 settlements, where over 500,000 soldiers of Israeli citizenship live. Meanwhile, 3 million Palestinians in the West Coast live under Israeli military rule, while the Western-backed Palestinian Authority manages population centres. /tch