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

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 11:43 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Israeli authorities person released an Oscar-winning Palestinian manager who was detained by the service aft being attacked by Jewish settlers successful the occupied West Bank. He said they bushed him successful beforehand of his location portion filming the assault.

Hamdan Ballal and the different directors of No Other Land, which looks astatine the struggles of surviving nether Israeli occupation, had mounted the signifier astatine the 97th Academy Awards successful Los Angeles earlier this period erstwhile it won the grant for champion documentary film.

On Tuesday, with bruises connected his look and humor connected his clothes, helium was released from an Israeli constabulary presumption successful the West Bank colony of Kiryat Arba. He and 2 different Palestinians who had been attacked and detained were driven to a adjacent hospital.

Ballal said helium was held astatine an service basal and forced to slumber nether a freezing aerial conditioner.

"I was blindfolded for 24 hours," helium told The Associated Press. "All the night, I was freezing. It was a room, I couldn't spot anything.... I heard the dependable of soldiers laughing astir me."

Lea Tsemel, the lawyer representing the 3 men, said they received lone minimal attraction for their injuries from the onslaught and that she had nary entree to them for respective hours aft their arrest. She had earlier said they were accused of throwing stones astatine a young settler, allegations they deny.

Palestinian residents accidental astir 2 twelve settlers — immoderate masked, immoderate carrying guns and immoderate successful subject uniforms — attacked the West Bank colony of Susiya connected Monday evening arsenic residents were breaking their accelerated during the Muslim beatified period of Ramadan. 

Soldiers who arrived pointed their guns astatine the Palestinians, portion settlers continued throwing stones, they said.

The Israeli subject said Monday it had detained 3 Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks astatine forces and 1 Israeli civilian progressive successful what it described arsenic a convulsive confrontation.

On Tuesday, it referred further queries to police, who did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.