‘No Other Land’ Co-Director Freed After Being Detained
Image Source: MUBI
Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of No Other Land, which just won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, was reported to have been attacked and then subsequently kidnapped the other day as he and community members were sitting down to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fast for the day. These reports were corroborated by Yuval Abraham, one of his co-directors, and his lawyer, who stated that Israeli authorities had arrested him and were beating him.
If this is the first you’re reading about it, that’s because it barely made any rounds in the mainstream press. As reports of this were circling the independent journalist posts online, none of the major sites had written anything about it, despite confirmations. The actions of the Israeli state quickly garnered the fury of the international film community, who immediately demanded his release. As of yesterday, Deadline reported that he has been released, and his lawyer provided a picture of him recovering from his wounds in a hospital.
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Israeli military, of course, issued a blanket statement as they typically do, claiming they arrested protestors who were throwing rocks. A spokesperson for the Center for Jewish Nonviolence factually pointed out that the Israeli military has a long history of false statements and justifications for their actions. They also pointed out that it was, in fact, Israeli settlers that attacked the feast and initially abducted Ballal, citing video evidence, and claiming the Israeli military did nothing to prevent it. Despite violations of international human rights and UN decrees, Israeli settlers have been taking land and evicting native Palestinian residents in the West Bank for decades, all with the backing of the Israeli state.
No Other Land is a joint Israeli and Palestinian documentary that highlights the atrocities that Palestinians are enduring under the illegal occupation of the Israeli government and military. Due to the explosive nature of the hotbed international situation, it has not found many outlets for viewing. The mayor of Miami threatened to revoke the license of a theater in Miami if they decided to show it. Channel 4 in England is, however, broadcasting it.
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Source(s): Deadline
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