Oscar-winning director Yuval Abraham claimed on Monday evening that Hamdan Ballal, one of his partners in creating the documentary "No Other Land," was attacked by Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria at his home in the village of Susya and then arrested by soldiers while being evacuated in an ambulance.
The IDF clarified that Ballal was arrested due to his involvement in throwing rocks at IDF troops and was not arrested while inside an ambulance.
In a post on social media site X, Abraham claimed, "A group of settlers attacked the home of Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the Oscar-winning film 'No Other Land' with me. They beat him on the head and body. While he was injured and bleeding, soldiers entered the ambulance he had summoned and arrested him. Since then, he has disappeared, and it’s unclear if he’s receiving medical care or what’s happening to him."
Later, Abraham posted security camera footage allegedly showing a group of masked individuals attacking Ballal.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit clarified in a statement that several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens on Monday evening, damaging their vehicles near Susya.
“Following this, a violent confrontation broke out, involving mutual rock-hurling between Palestinians and Israelis at the scene. IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces,” it said.
“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 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. Contrary to claims, no Palestinian was apprehended from inside an ambulance,” the IDF clarified.
"No Other Land", created by Israelis Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham and Palestinian Arabs Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, won the Oscar for best documentary film earlier this month.
In a speech delivered after receiving the award, Adra criticized Israel and said, "About two months ago, I became a father and my hope to my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I'm living now, always fearing settlers' violence, home demolitions, and forest build displacements that my community is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation.”
“We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” he added.
Abraham said at the ceremony, "We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other, the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people which must end, the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th which must be freed."
The film, which has caused a stir in Israel, focuses on the incursion of the villagers of Yatta into Firing Zone 918 in the southern Hebron Hills, known as Masafer Yatta, which has served as a training ground for the IDF and security forces for decades and actually held no villages whatsoever.
The IDF's training in the field was severely impaired by the massive incursion into the area, and the Supreme Court ruled that the incursion was illegal and that the IDF was entitled to evict the infiltrators and resume training in the area.
The film falsely portrays Israel as systematically abusing and mistreating villagers who have lived on their ancestral lands for many generations. The film claims that "Israeli soldiers and 'settlers' exploited the war to lead massacres, shootings and threats."