Israel releases Oscar-winning #Palestinian director after he was attacked by West Bank settlers

By JULIA FRANKEL
Updated 11:55 AM EDT, March 25, 2025

HEBRON, #WestBank (AP) — "#Israeli authorities released an Oscar-winning Palestinian director who was detained by the army after being attacked by #JewishSettlers in the occupied West Bank. He said they beat him in front of his home while they filmed the assault.

"#HamdanBallal and the other directors of '#NoOtherLand,' which looks at the struggles of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, had mounted the stage at the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles earlier this month when it won the award for best documentary film.

"On Tuesday, with bruises on his face and blood on his clothes, he was released from an Israeli police station in the West Bank settlement of #KiryatArba. He and two other Palestinians who had been attacked and detained were taken to a nearby hospital.

"Ballal said he was held at an army base, blindfolded for 24 hours and forced to sleep under a freezing air conditioner.

"'All my body is pain,' he told The Associated Press. “I heard the voices of the soldiers, they were laughing about me … I heard ‘Oscar’ but I didn’t speak Hebrew.'

"Lea Tsemel, the attorney representing the three men, said they received only minimal care for their injuries from the attack and that she had no access to them for several hours after their arrest."

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-settlers-oscar-hamdan-ballal-beb96478a55f42a7058a60ac5be7bd05
#IDFTerrorism #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #IsraeliSettlers

#OscarWinning #Palestinian Film Co-Director Attacked by #IsraeliSettlers, Detained

March 25, 2025

"#HamdanBallal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary #NoOtherLand, was attacked by illegal #Israeli Jewish settlers in the occupied #WestBank, Al-Jazeera Arabic website, and other sources reported on Monday.

"His fellow co-director, #YuvalAbraham, shared the details of the assault on social media, stating, 'A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land. They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding.'

"Ballal was severely beaten by the settlers and called for an ambulance. However, the situation took a dire turn when Israeli soldiers intervened and forcibly took him away.

"Abraham further explained, 'Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.' As of now, there has been no information on Ballal’s whereabouts, leaving his colleagues and supporters increasingly concerned for his safety.

"No Other Land is a collaboration between Palestinian and #Israeli filmmakers that documents the destruction of #MasaferYatta, a village in the West Bank, by Israeli military forces.

"The documentary has won international acclaim, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. However, the film has also faced backlash and controversy, especially in Israel.

"A video released by the #CenterForJewishNonviolence shows masked settlers attacking Jewish activists with stones and sticks. The activists, including those filming the incident, were targeted and their car windows were smashed.

"One of the activists, Josh Kimelman, spoke to the Associated Press, stating, 'We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was taken away in a blindfold.' The Israeli military has claimed that it is investigating the incident but has not provided any additional information on the matter."

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/oscar-winning-palestinian-film-co-director-attacked-by-israeli-settlers-detained/
#IDFTerrorism #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #FreePalestine #FreeGaza

PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE, OUR LIVES ARE IN DANGER WE MUST FLEE

They're killing us all, everything keeps getting worse, we need to flee to a safe place, please help us save our family

We have only been able to raise €200 so far, please help us to survive

DIFFERENCE: €2300

#FreeGaza #MutualAid #FreePalestine #HelpSky #helpfolkslive2025 #genocideagaza #crowdfunding #gofundme @palestine @mutualai

https://www.paypal.me/MahmoudAhmad734

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https://mstdn.social/@freedomgaza/114187223231740517

‘For whoever picks up the pieces from the rubble left by the #Trump era, the West’s role as the moral leader of the world is gone for good. It has wilfully abrogated that role, at the cost of thousands more Palestinian & #Muslim lives.’

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/ramadan-massacre-obliterates-wests-claim-moral-leadership

Oh my God, please help us. They are killing us all. We just want to escape and live. The bombing has started again and many people have died. My family is in great danger. Please help us urgently

We need everyone's help to escape, they are killing us, please help us escape
#MutualAid #gazagenocide #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #crowdfunding #HelpSky #helpfolkslive2025 @mutualaid @palestine

Goal:€2500

https://www.paypal.me/MahmoudAhmad734

https://goget.fund/4eGOovZ

#FreeSpeech #1A #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #FreeMahmoudKhalil #HigherEd #deportation #Trump #MAGA

The one thing that conservatives don't understand is that you don't have a #2A if you don't have the #FirstAmendment

Backed by #Trump, #Israel Shreds #CeaseFire Deal and Kills Over 400 Across #Gaza | Common Dreams

"This return to violence does not come as a surprise," said one advocacy group. "#Netanyahu has, from the beginning, signaled his intention to abandon the cease-fire process before it could become a lasting peace."

by Jake Johnson, Mar 18, 2025

"Muhannad Hadi, humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, said in a statement Tuesday that the fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes 'is unconscionable' and that a cease-fire 'must be reinstated immediately.'

"'People in Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering,' said Hadi. 'An end to hostilities, sustained #humanitarian assistance, release of the hostages, and the restoration of basic services and people’s livelihoods, are the only way forward.'"

Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-violates-cease-fire
#CeasefireNow #FreePalestine #BibiIsAWarCriminal #TrumpIsAWarCriminal #USPol #WorldPOL #Genocide #WarCrimes #FreeGaza #NoWar #PeaceNow #PalestinianRights #HumanRightsViolations #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong

With the ongoing massacre in Gaza, it is unbelievable that the EBU - again - made the decision to allow Israel to participate in the European Song Contest!

Sign and share the petition to demand resignation of the EBU directors!

https://www.change.org/p/demand-resignation-of-ebu-directors-and-eurovision-song-contest-director?source_location=topics_page

#BOYCOTTISRAEL
#EUROVISION
#FREEGAZA

WE NEED FOOD URGENTLY

We are really having a hard time, please help us live and eat something, our family needs a lot of help, this was our last meal a couple of days ago,the aid has disappeared, please if you see this we urgently need some food
#MutualAid #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #HelpSky #helpfolkslive2025 #crowdfunding @mutualaid @palestine

Goal:€1250

https://www.paypal.me/MahmoudAhmad734

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BOYCOTT BARCLAYS
Today we were inside and outside the Barclays bank in Cambridge asking people to divest and change their bank accounts.
Barclays funds Israeli arms and fossil fuels.
#BoycottBarclays #StopArmingIsrael #StopTheGenocide #EndFossilFuels #StopFundingFossilFuels #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #IsraelIsATerroristState #BDS

Israel's Hell Plan Scheme for GAZA. Are the ADL’s anti-Semitism stats credible?
The Anti-Defamation League is one of the most influential well-funded NGOs in the US & it’s getting more media attention than ever. The Listening Post’s Meenakshi Ravi reports on the organisation, its high-profile CEO, and its troubling stance: Conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. #FreeGaza #humanrights #FreePalestineNow #trumpisawarcriminal #NetanyahuWarCriminal #IsraeliWarCrimes https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-listening-post/2025/3/8/hell-plan-israels-scheme-for-gaza

Trump to students and educators: "Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested."

So much of the Free Speech president.

And remember what happens when Free Speech is suppressed on college campuses. When students are vilified for their dissent: Kent State, Jackson State, People's Park.

We are still looking for help to survive. We are dying of hunger, our families are suffering greatly. The war has taken away our happiness. Please could you help us get some food and medicine?

It is so difficult to fight without support, please all together we can achieve it please DONATE AND SHARE

#FreePalestine #FreeGaza #MutualAid #HelpSky #helpfolkslive2025 #gazagenocide @mutualaid @palestine

Difference:€1150

https://www.paypal.me/MahmoudAhmad734

https://goget.fund/4eGOovZ

PLEASE EVERYONE HELP US IT IS URGENT

We are very desperate friends, we have no food and we are dying of hunger, we have not been able to eat for more than 10 hours, we are hungry, please could you help us raise 500€ as soon as possible? We need food urgently or we could die, please do not ignore and share and donate
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PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE AND TRY TO HELP MY FAMILY

I wish I had the necessary support to be able to help my family, we are dying of hunger, please help us, things here in Gaza are very bad and we need everyone's support so they don't let us die

#gazagenocide #FreeGaza #MutualAid #HelpSky #helpfolkslive2025 #FreePalestine @mutualaid @palestine

Goal:€1250

https://www.paypal.me/MahmoudAhmad734

https://goget.fund/4eGOovZ