The award-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal was released by Israeli authorities on Tuesday from a police station in Kiryat Arba after being detained alongside two other Palestinians. “I was blindfolded for 24 hours,” Ballal recounted with bruises on his face and blood on his clothes. “All the night I was freezing. It was a room, I couldn’t see anything… I heard the voice of soldiers laughing about me.”
The Academy-award winner was arrested by colonial Israeli forces on Monday evening after being lynched by a mob in Susya, West Bank. According to journalist, and close collaborator Yuval Abraham, the 37-year-old’s home was surrounded and attacked by raiders before he was detained by IOF soldiers inside an ambulance he had initially called to provide him with medical assistance.
Ballal and Abraham worked narrowly on the production of No Other Land, a documentary that shed light on the progressive destruction of a local village, Masafer Yatta, by Israeli forces and settlers.
From what Abraham reported last night on X (formerly Twitter), Ballal is suffering from injuries to his head and stomach. Despite this, he remains in custody, with no clear information on how his lesions have been treated or whether he has received any kind of care. His exact whereabouts remain unknown and has still been unable to liaise with his legal representation.
In a publicly shared statement, Israeli occupation forces justified Ballal’s arrest over rock hurling suspicions. “IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces,” the statement read.
Ballal’s detention sparked widespread condemnation from all over the world, with activists, human rights organizations, and political figures calling for his immediate release.