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Palestinian Director of Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land’ Released by IDF After Arrested for Throwing Rocks at Israeli Forces
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “No Other Land” during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Palestinian filmmaker and photographer Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the anti-Israel Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was released Tuesday morning after being arrested by the Israel Defense Forces the night before on suspicion of throwing rocks at Israeli security forces in the southern West Bank, according to the IDF.
“No Other Land” co-director Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and activist, said in a post on X that Ballal was currently being treated at a hospital in Hebron for injuries sustained “all over his body” during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on Monday night.
Following his arrest, a spokesperson for the IDF said that, “contrary to claims, no Palestinian was apprehended from inside an ambulance.” The statement directly denies claims made by “No Other Land” co-director and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham about Ballal’s arrest. On Monday, Abraham claimed in a message on X that Ballal was “assaulted and beaten up” by a group of settlers” in the West Bank. Abraham was reportedly not at the scene of the incident. Adra, who lives in Masafer Yatta, added in a post on X that Ballal was allegedly “abducted” by IDF soldiers while he was “injured and bleeding.”
“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,” Abraham said.
Early Tuesday morning, Abraham posted an update on X, saying that Ballal was held at a police station in Kiryat Arba, and that “after being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base,” he was released.
“No Other Land” is a documentary about Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in the southern West Bank that were illegally built on land that Israel had claimed for a military training zone in the 1980s. The film is highly critical of Israel’s military actions and portrays Israel as violent land grabbers who forcibly evict and displace Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists – Abraham, Ballal, Adra, and Israeli cinematographer Rachel Szor. Earlier this month, all four were at the Oscars to accept the award for best documentary feature film for “No Other Land.”
After news of Monday night’s incident surfaced online, anti-Israel actor Mark Ruffalo voiced support for Ballal on social media. He commented on an Instagram post by IndieWire about Ballal’s arrest and said in part that “every film maker and academy member should be acting together in protest.”
The IDF spokesperson said in a statement that on Monday night, “several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles,” near the Palestinian village of Susya, located in the Masafer Yatta area in the West Bank. Afterward, a “violent confrontation” broke out, which involved “mutual rock-hurling” between Palestinians and Israelis, the IDF said. Videos purportedly showing the violent clashes were shared on social media by Anna Lippman, an activist with the pro-Palestinian group Center for Jewish Nonviolence who was targeted with violence at the scene.
“IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces,” the military spokesperson said. “In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police … Among the detainees is Hamdan Bilal [sic], who is suspected of hurling rocks at the forces.” The spokesperson added that an Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and “was evacuated to receive medical treatment.”
“No Other Land” does not have a theatrical distributor in the United States but did screen at independent cinemas in selected cities. After it began screening at an independent theater in Miami Beach, Florida, the city’s mayor proposed evicting the theater from city property and cutting its funding.
Mayor Steven Meiner withdrew his proposal after it faced backlash from many community members.
The post Palestinian Director of Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land’ Released by IDF After Arrested for Throwing Rocks at Israeli Forces first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.