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Photos:
Hamdan Bilal Al-Hreini. Published by IMEMC News

A car that was attacked by settlers during the riot on Monday night. Credit: Nasser Nuwajamea. Published by Haaaretz

See additional video at IMEMC News Source Link: Video from @olgarodriguezfr on Twitter:
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by IMEMC News

On Monday evening, illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers attacked four Palestinians, including the co-director of an Oscar-winning documentary, in the village of Susiya, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank’s southern part.

Among the injured was filmmaker Hamdan Bilal Al-Hreini, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land.”

During the assault, Israeli occupation forces detained Al-Hreini directly from an ambulance, along with two other young men.

Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of colonizers stormed the village, vandalized property, and targeted Al-Hreini, striking his head and body, which caused significant injuries.

While he was receiving medical attention in an ambulance, Israeli forces invaded the village and abducted him, along with Khaled Shanran and Nasser Shreiteh.

Al-Hreini, in collaboration with activist Basel Adra, directed “No Other Land,” a Palestinian documentary that won Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards earlier this month.

The documentary highlights the persistent suffering faced by Palestinians in Masafer Yatta due to recurring assaults by Israeli forces.

Earlier in the day, Jihad Al-Nawaj’a, head of Susiya’s local council, stated that four Palestinians, including Al-Hreini, sustained moderate injuries while confronting armed paramilitary colonizers from the illegal colony of “Susiya.”

These colonizers attempted to steal a flock of sheep, fired live rounds into the air, and damaged water tanks, property, and vehicles in the village.

In a related incident, anti-colonization activist Osama Makhamra stated that colonizers also targeted the home of Saddam Abu Qbeita in the Eshkara area, southeast of Yatta.

They hurled stones at his house and physically assaulted him, leaving him with bruises that were treated on-site.

Video from @olgarodriguezfr on Twitter:
Israel’s colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in and around the occupied capital, Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions.

UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions have condemned Israeli policies in all its forms, in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether it be the seizure of Palestinian land for various military purposes, the construction of illegal Israeli colonies, or the creation of bypass roads.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that the occupying power [Israel] is forbidden from transferring any part of its civilian population onto the land on which it occupies [Palestine]. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
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Cuffed and Blindfolded All Night | 'No Other Land' Co-director to Be Freed From Israeli Custody After Settler, IDF Soldier Attacks

In testimony to his attorney, Hamdan Ballal recounted documenting a settler riot, during which a settler assaulted him while IDF soldiers stood by. In IDF custody, he and two others were beaten by soldiers and left outside overnight in freezing temperatures

by Nir Hasson for Haaretz
Mar 25, 2025 3:04 pm IST

Palestinian activist and co-director of the Oscar-winning film "No Other Land," Hamdan Ballal, is set to be released from Israeli custody after being held, along with two other Palestinians, since his arrest in the West Bank on Monday night.

According to their testimony, Israeli settlers attacked them while Israel Defense Forces soldiers stood by without intervening. Ballal, a well-known Palestinian activist in the area, also said that he was beaten by soldiers while blindfolded and handcuffed. The three detainees were left outside overnight, bound and blindfolded, on the ground at an IDF base.

The three men – Ballal, 36, Khaled Shanran, 33, and Nasser Shariteh, 50 – were arrested Monday after an incident in which dozens of Israeli settlers, some masked, attacked residents of the Palestinian village of Susiya in southern Hebron. They are expected to be released shortly.

Ballal is a co-director of the film "No Other Land." The 2024 Israeli-Palestinian production, which documents life in the West Bank's Masafer Yatta region under the abuse of Israeli authorities and settlers, won the Oscar for Best Documentary.

According to Palestinian residents and international activists on-site, the settlers approached the village to graze their livestock. When the Palestinians called them out, dozens of settlers armed with stones stormed the village, throwing stones, damaging vehicles and water tanks, and stealing security cameras.

According to the IDF, the Palestinians also responded by throwing stones. A local Israeli security squad, made up of settlers from the area, arrived at the scene, detained the Palestinians, and handed them over to the police. One settler was also arrested during the incident.

The IDF claimed on Monday night that Ballal was suspected of throwing stones at the Israeli forces and was therefore arrested, but Ballal denies the allegations.

Only on Tuesday morning was attorney Lea Tsemel finally able to speak with the detainees. Ballal recounted that he was documenting the attack when he rushed home to protect his family. Around 10 minutes later, a settler who is known to the Palestinian residents arrived with two IDF soldiers. The settler punched him in the face, causing him to fall, then kicked him. Israeli soldiers arrested Ballal soon after and took him to an IDF doctor who, according to Ballal, failed to document his injuries and provided only minimal treatment.

Ballal said that after his arrest, he remained handcuffed and blindfolded on the ground while two soldiers guarded him. He alleged that the soldiers beat him, and one fired two warning shots in the air to intimidate him. Shanran and Shariteh also testified that the same settler attacked them at home, accompanied by around 15 masked Israeli youths, while soldiers nearby did nothing to intervene.

All three detainees said that they were left outside, bound and blindfolded, throughout the freezing temperatures at night. They were handed over to the Israel Police on Tuesday morning.

The IDF said late Monday night that "several terrorists threw stones at Israeli civilians, damaging vehicles near Susiya ... A violent confrontation ensued, with both Palestinians and Israelis throwing stones. When IDF and police forces arrived to disperse the clash, several terrorists began throwing stones at security forces. In response, troops arrested three Palestinians suspected of throwing stones and an Israeli civilian involved in the altercation. The detainees were transferred to the Israel Police for further investigation. An Israeli civilian injured in the incident was taken for medical treatment."