This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the documentary No Other Land that won Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, has been kidnapped by Israeli soldiers, according to his co-director Basel Adra and other eyewitnesses at the scene. He was reportedly beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being hauled away. Adra told CNN that he had rushed to Ballal’s home in the village of Susya after he received a distressed phone call from his colleague, only to see Ballal and at least one other person escorted from the premises, with some settlers throwing stones while Israeli police and military fired at bystanders to keep them away. At this time, it is currently unknown where he is located.
Regarding the incident, the Israeli military claimed to be responding to a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians where two sides had been throwing stones at each other after “terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles.” Three Palestinians and an Israeli were among those detained for questioning, according to their report. However, activists for the Center for Jewish Nonviolence and other witnesses who spoke out of anonymity to avoid reprisals disputed the claims to the Associated Press, describing how a group of roughly 10-20 masked individuals used sticks, stones, and other weapons to beat Ballal and attack other activists at the scene, also slashing their tires and busting windows in an attempt to scare others away. Josh Kimelman, one of the activists in the group attacked, also said that Israeli police had stood by without taking action despite the activists explaining what was happening.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
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