Hamdan Ballal, the Oscar-winning Palestinian director, was attacked by Israeli settlers and arrested.

According to his co-director, a Palestinian Oscar winner who was detained by the Israeli military after being attacked by Israeli settlers has been freed.

An activist who was seen in the scene earlier said that during an attack on Monday, settlers surrounded the home of Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Yuval Abraham, his co-director, claimed that Mr. Ballal had been beaten by settlers and then taken by soldiers in an ambulance.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied this, but on Tuesday afternoon, it was reported that Mr. Ballal had been released.

Three Palestinians and an Israeli were arrested on suspicion of “rock hurling” at security forces, according to the IDF.

Five Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV) activists claimed that after visiting the village to record the event, they were attacked by settlers who smashed the windows of their cars and struck them with sticks and punches.

Oscar-winning Palestinian director released after attack in West Bank.

Three Palestinians, including Mr. Ballal, were detained at an Israeli police station in the West Bank after being hurt in the settler attack, an activist who was present at the scene earlier said.

The activists claimed that they were questioned and had access to legal representation because they were suspected of throwing stones and hurting a young settler shepherd.

According to the activists, the attack started Monday at around 18:00 (16:00 GMT) when about a dozen masked settlers attacked the village of Susya.

The settlers reportedly surrounded Mr. Ballal’s home. The Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, who shared the Oscar with Mr. Ballal this month, reported that the attack had caused property damage and injuries.

Despite them complaining to the Israeli soldiers that they were being attacked, the army just observed as the car attack came to an end before intervening.

According to the activist, the settlers were then free to attack homes on the opposite side of the hill since the soldiers would not pursue them.

To diffuse the conflict, the IDF confirmed that police and soldiers had arrived. They claimed that security personnel had been “hurled” rocks.

The co-director claims that the Palestinian Oscar winner was freed following an attack by Israeli settlers.

According to the IDF, “three Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation, were apprehended by the forces in response.”

“The Israel Police took the detainees away for additional interrogation. After being hurt in the incident, an Israeli national was taken to an evacuation center for medical attention.

Following the conflict over Masafer Yatta, a community of roughly 20 villages, and the friendship between Adra and Abraham, No Other Land won Best Documentary at the 97th Academy Awards.

The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Although Israel contests this, international law views Israeli settlements on the land as unlawful.

Over the previous 55 years, they have grown and turned into a hotbed of violence and competing land claims.

In the West Bank, settler violence against Palestinian civilians has increased since the start of the Israel- Hamas conflict in 2023.