Hamdan Ballal believes his Academy Award has placed a target on his back.

“The attack was part of a campaign by extremist settlers incensed by my Oscar win," Ballal told TRT World from his home in the occupied West Bank. 

The 36-year-old Palestinian filmmaker, activist, and father of three was violently assaulted by settlers in his village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, just days after No Other Land — the documentary he co-directed — won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

“The settlers want to hide the truth and mislead the world using a false Israeli narrative,” Ballal continued. “While Israel promotes itself as a democratic state seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict [in Palestine], the reality on the ground reveals the exact opposite.”

Ballal was left with injuries to his head and jaw. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem confirmed he was later transferred to Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron for treatment. But before that, he was detained, blindfolded, and charged — for defending his village from the very settlers who attacked him.

Intention to kill

On the evening of March 24, as families in Susiya prepared their iftar meals, masked settlers stormed the village. Ballal rushed out to help.

“An activist at the scene called me, so I rushed to document the attack and to help my neighbour,” he said. “But before I knew it, they were hitting me on the back of the head. Clearly their intention was to kill, as the blows were continuous, targeting a vulnerable area.”

He remembers seeing soldiers standing by, offering no help. “My head was bleeding. I was nearly dying when the soldiers saw me. When I asked for emergency treatment, one of them pointed to a nearby clinic and told me to get up and go there myself.”

Bleeding and disoriented, Ballal dragged himself to the clinic. But before he could be treated, he was arrested.

“The next thing I know, I’m in an ambulance, probably a Palestinian one because that was when Occupation police arrested me,” he said. “I was blindfolded and handcuffed. They spoke in Arabic and used the word ‘Oscar,’ which was when I realised they were talking about me.”

He was taken to Kiryat Arba police station, where he was charged with throwing stones — the common charge used to detain Palestinians, including those who are victims of assault.

“My justification was clear,” he said. “The settler was the one who stormed my house to attack me, not me who went to his house.”

Not the first but the most violent

Ballal is no stranger to threats. His work documenting settler violence and forced displacement has long made him a target. But since the Oscar win, the intensity has escalated. The award was also condemned in Israel and described by the country’s culture minister as ‘a sad moment for the world of cinema.

“This wasn’t the first attack,” he said. “But it was the most violent.”

He was released after a night in detention alongside two other Palestinians — Nasser Shreiteh, 50, and Khaled Shinran, 33 — who also suffered injuries. None of them received medical attention while in custody. Ballal was fined $130 (500 shekels) and signed a pledge not to “confront settlers” again.

According to activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, settlers vandalised homes, smashed windows, and damaged cars during the attack. Soldiers, the activists said, did not intervene.

Truth makes one a target

Ballal’s Oscar-winning film No Other Land, co-directed with Palestinian Basel Adra and Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, captures the lived experience of Palestinians under occupation. The film’s raw documentation of settler violence, land seizures, and demolitions — much of it in Masafer Yatta — sparked international conversation and backlash in equal measure.

Attempts to expose this false narrative through a high-profile Palestinian-Israeli documentary like No Other Land, he said, often have dire consequences.

“When activists and foreign human rights defenders merely document moments of violence and violations experienced by Palestinians, they are immediately targeted,” said Ballal.

International pressure

Initially, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement condemning the attack — but failed to mention Ballal or the film. The omission sparked backlash.

Over 600 Academy members signed an open letter demanding a stronger stance. Days later, the Academy issued a revised apology: “We regret our failure to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name. The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker — it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths.

“We will continue to watch over this film team. Winning an Oscar has put their lives in increasing danger, and we will not mince words when the safety of fellow artists is at stake.”

Not an isolated case

Ballal’s experience echoes that of other Palestinian artists who have faced arrest, censorship, or threats for speaking out.

Singer Dalal Abu Amneh was detained in 2021 for a Facebook post encouraging Palestinians to “hold on to their culture.” Filmmaker Mohammed Bakri has faced legal persecution and bans over his acclaimed documentary Jenin, Jenin. Performances by Palestinian musicians are often cancelled abroad due to pressure campaigns.

Despite the trauma from the recent attack, telling the truth is non-negotiable. Ballal remains committed to his work— and to the possibility of coexistence.

“People think that Palestinians living in the West Bank deal normally with Israelis and that we coexist, but that’s not the case,” said Ballal.

However there are Israelis, like those who he worked with to produce the film, who are against the occupation and against violence, he added “you can count them on your fingers.”

“Everyone wants to live in peace, but we must have a partner in peace.”

That’s a hope he refuses to let go of, especially for the sake of his three children.

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.