A Palestinian director won an Oscar for a documentary that depicts the struggles of his village against Israel’s occupation. However, days after accepting the award, he was brutally beaten by an Israeli settler and soldiers in his own village.
Hamdan Ballal, who accepted the Oscar for “No Other Land,” said he was attacked by an Israeli settler named Shem Tov Luski on Monday night. The settler kicked him in the head like a football during the attack, which also involved police and at least 30 soldiers.
Ballal claims that he was kept blindfolded for more than 20 hours at an army base and beaten by soldiers whenever they came to check on him. He heard the soldiers saying his name and “Oscar” as they attacked him.
The Israeli military has not commented on Ballal’s allegations, but Luski denies any involvement in the attack or beating of Ballal. The incident is part of a larger trend of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank region.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-settlers-oscar-hamdan-ballal-beb96478a55f42a7058a60ac5be7bd05