Palestinian Oscar winner held by Israel after ‘settler attack’

A Palestinian Oscar winner has been detained in the occupied West Bank following an outbreak of violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, activists say.

Hamdan Ballal, who was one of four co-directors of No Other Land, had his house surrounded by settlers during an attack on Monday in the village of Susya, according to five Jewish American activists.

Co-director Yuval Abraham said Mr Ballal had been beaten and taken by soldiers while in an ambulance, although this has been disputed by Israel.

Without naming Mr Ballal, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said three Palestinians and an Israeli had been detained after being suspected of “rock hurling” at security forces.

The five Jewish American activists said that about a dozen masked settlers had mounted an attack in Susya at about 18:00 (16:00 GMT).

The activists said they had gone to the village to document the incident and had come under attack themselves, with settlers smashing their car windows, and punching and hitting them with sticks.

Mr Ballal’s house is reported to have been surrounded by the settlers.

Yuval Abraham, the Israeli director who won the Oscar this month alongside Mr Ballal, said people had been injured and properties destroyed in the attack.

One activist told the BBC they had complained to the Israeli soldiers that they were under attack. They said the army had intervened and the settlers had backed off.

Israel’s army confirmed that IDF soldiers and Israeli police had arrived to disperse the confrontation.

They said rocks had been “hurled” at security forces.

“In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation,” the IDF said.

“The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police. An Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and was evacuated to receive medical treatment.”

No Other Land – which picked up best documentary at the 97th Academy Awards – follows the fight over Masafer Yatta, a community of about 20 villages, and the friendship between Adra and Abraham.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Israeli settlements in the territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

They have expanded over the past 55 years, becoming a focal point for violence and conflicting claims over land.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has surged.