Kareem Olasunkanmi Temitayo

Oscar-winning Palestinian director of ‘No Other Land’ released from Israeli detention after being assaulted

The Palestinian co-director of Oscar-winning film “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal was beaten up by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, taken away by Israeli soldiers and detained overnight, according to his family, friends, colleagues, eyewitnesses and lawyer. On Tuesday afternoon, following his release from detention, Ballal’s lawyer Leah Tzemel said that he had been “arbitrarily” held in police detention in Kiryat Arba’a, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, and that he had been beaten in custody by Israeli soldiers. Following his release, he was moved to a hospital in Hebron, where he was treated for his injuries, according to his brother, Nimer. Despite suffering from dehydration and bruising, Ballal left the hospital, his co-director Basel Adra told CNN. He has now returned home to his family in Susya in the occupied West Bank, his brother said.