His detention is part of a wider crackdown against cinema, spearheaded by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the military in charge of the occupied West Bank. The detention came on the heels of a brutal attack by Israeli settlers in the village of Susya. After the attack, the IDF arrested three Palestinians and an Israeli citizen. They just assume these people are throwing rocks at security forces.
The clash started in Susya, where at least a dozen masked settlers were said to have started an attack on the Palestinian town. In the course of the fight, an Israeli citizen was injured and was later hospitalized.
"In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation," – IDF (Israel Defense Forces)
One of these detainees was Hamdan Ballal, who co-produced and co-directed the resulting documentary, “No Other Land.” This riveting documentary swept the best documentary award at the 97th Academy Awards. It beautifully imagines the day-to-day fight for survival of Masafer Yatta, a community composed of some 20 villages. The documentary paints a complex picture of the dynamics and tensions at play surrounding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Under international law, these settlements are illegal.
Yuval Abraham is an Israeli director who co-directed No Other Land with Ballal. His focused, introspective work on this documentary has certainly earned him the accolade. Through the lens of communities like Masafer Yatta, “Hunger Ward” reveals the real-life impacts of the bigger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
One week later, the situation in Susya raises the stakes even further. Israeli settlements continued to be an incendiary part of the conflict. The international community has long debated the legality and implications of such settlements, with many advocating for peaceful resolutions to the ongoing disputes.
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