Palestinian Oscar winner released after Israeli detention
Israeli police released Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal on Tuesday, after detaining him a day earlier for "hurling rocks" following what activists described as an attack by settlers in the occupied West Bank, reported AFP.
Basel Adra, who worked with Ballal on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, posted a photo of Ballal on X after his release with blood stains on his shirt.
"After I won the Oscar, I did not expect to be exposed to such attacks," Ballal said in a video by AFPTV.
"It was a very strong attack and the goal was to kill."
According to the Israeli military, three Palestinians were apprehended on Monday for "hurling rocks" during a confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians in the southern West Bank village of Susya.
"Following this, a violent confrontation broke out, involving mutual rock hurling between Palestinians and Israelis," the military statement said.
The village is located near Masafer Yatta, a grouping of hamlets south of Hebron city where No Other Land is set.
The best documentary at this year's Academy Awards, No Other Land tells the story of forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops and settlers in Masafer Yatta – an area Israel had declared a restricted military zone in the 1980s.
A police spokesperson confirmed Ballal had been detained, while a later statement from the force said three people had been released on bail.
The statement said they were being investigated "on suspicion of rock hurling, property damage and endangering regional security".
'Hitting me all over'
Ballal said he had been attacked by a settler.
"He was hitting me all over my body and there was also a soldier with him hitting me."
Yuval Abraham, who co-directed No Other Land, said Ballal has injuries to the "head and stomach, bleeding".
Activists from the anti-occupation group Center for Jewish Nonviolence said they witnessed the violence in Susya while there in an effort to deter settler violence.
"This type of violence is happening on a regular basis," said Jenna, an American activist who declined to share her full name out of security concerns.
She said that before Israeli forces arrived, a group of 15 to 20 settlers attacked the activists as well as Ballal's house in the village.
Foreign activists regularly stay in Masafer Yatta's communities to accompany Palestinians as they tend to their crops or shepherd their sheep, and document instances of settler violence.
Rights groups have said that since October 7, 2023, there has been a spike in attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Occupied by Israel since 1967, the West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as nearly half a million Israelis who live in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran says it arrested 21,000 ‘suspects' during 12-day war with Israel
DUBAI: Iranian police arrested as many as 21,000 'suspects' during the country's 12-day war with Israel in June, a law enforcement spokesperson said on Tuesday, according to state media. Following Israeli air strikes that began on June 13, Iranian security forces began a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints and 'public reports' whereby citizens were called upon to report on any individuals they thought were acting suspiciously. 'There was a 41% increase in calls by the public, which led to the arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war,' police spokesperson Saeid Montazerolmahdi said. He did not say what those arrested were suspected of, but Tehran has spoken before of people passing on information that may have helped direct the Israeli attacks. The Israel-Iran conflict has also led to an accelerated rate of deportations for Afghan migrants believed to be illegally in Iran, with aid agencies reporting that local authorities had also accused some Afghan nationals of spying for Israel. Trump to decide on US action in Israel-Iran war within two weeks, White House says 'Law enforcement rounded up 2,774 illegal migrants and discovered 30 special security cases by examining their phones. 261 suspects of espionage and 172 people accused of unauthorized filming were also arrested,' the spokesperson added. Montazerolmahdi did not specify how many of those arrested had since been released. He added that Iran's police handled more than 5,700 cases of cyber crimes such as online fraud and unauthorised withdrawals during the war, which he said had turned 'cyberspace into an important battlefront.'
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Cate Blanchett's surprise ‘Squid Game' cameo fuels US spinoff rumors
Cate Blanchett is stirring up speculation after her blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in the 'Squid Game' season 3 finale — and now she's speaking out about what it could mean for the show's American spinoff. The Netflix hit closed its latest season by confirming that the deadly competition is running worldwide. In Los Angeles, viewers got a jolt when Blanchett appeared as a sharply dressed recruiter, playing the high-stakes Korean game ddakji to lure a new victim. It was a setup that seemed tailor-made to introduce the upcoming US-set installment of the franchise. Blanchett revealed the cameo was shrouded in secrecy. Without a costume fitting, she had to bring her own suit, learn ddakji on the fly, and work from just a handful of storyboards. 'It was one of the more mysterious jobs,' she said, noting how little time she had to prepare before cameras rolled. The Oscar-winning actress also addressed whether she'll reprise the role in the American spinoff, which is set to be helmed by 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' director David Fincher. 'I am wildly open to anything,' Blanchett said. 'They're amazing world-builders, and that series has touched every corner of the globe. I'd love to work with David again, but I don't know anything more than you do.' So far, Netflix hasn't confirmed any casting for the US version, but the finale's global expansion and Blanchett's stylish, mysterious presence make her return a tantalizing possibility. Fans online are already theorizing that her recruiter could serve as a key bridge between the Korean and American games. For now, the fate of Blanchett's character is a waiting game — much like the ominous challenges that made 'Squid Game' a worldwide phenomenon in the first place. Here are the keywords for that Cate Blanchett *Squid Game* story:
Business Recorder
19 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Nigerian military kills more than 100 ‘bandits' in raid
KANO (Nigeria): The Nigerian military killed more than 100 members of a criminal gang in an air and ground raid over the weekend, according to a conflict monitoring report produced for the United Nations and seen by AFP on Monday. Armed groups called 'bandits' by locals have for years been terrorising communities in northwest and central Nigeria, raiding villages, kidnapping residents for ransom and burning homes after looting them. The military raid in the restive northwestern state of Zamfara was launched 'in the early hours' Sunday in the Bukkuyum local government area, where fighter jets in coordination with ground troops pounded a gathering of more than 400 bandits in their Makakkari forest camp. The military's attack 'may have occurred in response to consecutive banditry, especially kidnapping, in the state in the previous month', the report said, noting a link between a recent decrease in military operations in the state and a spate of bandit attacks. Bukkuyum's Adabka village was on Friday the scene of a bandit attack that saw residents kidnapped and 13 security personnel killed. Bandits had been planning an attack on a farming village when 'air and ground troops ambushed a bandit camp... killing over 100', the report said.
