Oscar-winning Palestinian director feared for his life during West Bank attack

An Oscar-winning Palestinian director attacked in the occupied West Bank says he was held overnight in jail by Israeli soldiers who mocked his award between beatings.

- BARNEY DAVIS

Just three weeks ago, Hamdan Ballal was given rapturous applause when he accepted the Academy Award for his film No Other Land.

Now he has spoken out about his ordeal that started on Monday, when his head was "kicked like a football" as he lay in the dirt during a settler attack on his home in the occupied area.

Ballal was attending a gathering for the end of the daily Ramadan fast near Hebron, when a group of masked men attacked him.

"In that precise moment, I thought about my family, who were at home," Ballal told The Guardian. "I ran to them and told my wife, 'Lock the house and keep the children inside.' They could have attacked me, but by doing so they wouldn't have harmed my family."

"The soldiers pointed their rifles at me while the settler from behind began beating me," Ballal said.