Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal was injured and arrested late Monday following an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank village of Susiya, local officials reported. Ballal, co-director of the award-winning documentary No Other Land, was attending an Iftar gathering marking the end of the daily Ramadan fast when a group of settlers launched an assault.

Jihad Nawajaa, the head of Susiya's local council, told Reuters that dozens of settlers attacked the gathering, prompting villagers to defend themselves. “The young men came out to protect the gathering, resulting in about eight injuries on our side,” Nawajaa said.

Ballal, who was among the three men arrested during the confrontation, sustained injuries. His wife, Lamia Ballal, described the settlers surrounding their home and her husband stepping outside to prevent them from breaking in. "They attacked him, beat him, and then arrested him. We don’t know where he is now," she said.

The incident is the latest in a series of violent clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Reports indicate that these attacks have escalated in recent months, with settlers often targeting villages and Bedouin encampments, sometimes stealing livestock.

Lamia also shared that settlers had stolen approximately 10 sheep from the village during the attack. Anna Lippman, an activist with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, noted that her group was attacked shortly after arriving in Susiya. Lippman said she witnessed Ballal being blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken away in a military vehicle.

The Israeli military confirmed that police and soldiers intervened after Palestinians reportedly threw rocks at Israeli vehicles and security forces. "In response, forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation," the military said in a statement. The military denied claims that Ballal had been arrested while in an ambulance.

The filmmakers’ documentary, No Other Land, tells the story of the displacement of a Palestinian community by Israeli forces. The film won an Oscar at the 2025 Academy Awards, though it remains unclear whether Ballal's arrest was connected to his work.

The attack and arrest have drawn attention to the ongoing tensions in the West Bank, where Palestinians and activists frequently accuse Israeli settlers of violent actions with little to no intervention from security forces.