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After being mobbed by Israeli settlers, No Other Land co-director and Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal has finally been freed and is on his way back home. The news was revealed by Yuval Abraham, Ballal's fellow co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary, on X in a post that was put out by him on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
In his post, the No Other Land co-director said that Ballal spent the night in a military base and was handcuffed and beaten as well. However, now he has been freed and is finally on his way back home to be reunited with his family.
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“After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family," said Abraham in a post.
No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballal was assaulted and taken from his home on Monday night
As of now, a reason for why the No Other Land co-director was captured hasn't been mentioned yet, but the information was initially revealed by Yuval Abraham. He put up a post on Monday night, on March 24, 2025, saying that a group of Israeli settlers mobbed Ballal and beat him up as well. Ballal had sustained injuries to his head and stomach and was said to be bleeding as well.
He was then being taken to the hospital, but was abducted midway by the IDF as they took him to a military base after which no sign of him was seen.
"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. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since," said Abraham on a post on X.
However, later on, Abraham did provide updates on Ballal saying that he was being held at a police station and was injured. He was also denied access to his lawyer.
"He’s injured and being held at a police station in a settlement. They did not let his lawyer speak to him yet so we don’t know more," said Abraham in a follow-up post on X.
In a different post he also shared:
"After the assault, Hamdan was handcuffed and blindfolded all night in an army base while two soldiers beat him up on the floor, his lawyer Leah Tsemel said after speaking with him just now. He's still held in the Kiryat Arba police station."
Hamdan Ballal's assault caused massive calls for his freedom online
Following the assault of the No Other Land co-director, many people immediately started calling for his freedom online and condemned Israeli forces for taking the Palestinian filmmaker as a prisoner. Even actor Mark Ruffalo (best known for playing Hulk in the MCU and recently starring in Mickey 17) called for Ballal's freedom.
“Hamden Ballal is a political prisoner and this is an international incident and violation of human rights. Many of us are not surprised by this behavior from the lawless settlers and the IDF at this point. Kill(ing) journalists and abducting film makers is not an accident but a design for the eradication of a people and their culture. Free Ballal!” said Ruffalo in a comment IndieWire's Instagram post.
Ballal recently also won an Oscar for his documentary No Other Land. The film shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli forces and depicts the alliance between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Jewish Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.
For further updates on the situation, stay tuned.
