The Israeli occupation forces arrested Palestinian director Hamdan Bilal in the occupied West Bank yesterday evening, just weeks after his co-director, "No Other Land," won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, according to his co-director, Israeli director Yuval Abraham.

Abraham recounted in a post on the X platform that “a group of settlers attacked Hamdan Bilal’s home (…) and while he was injured and bleeding, soldiers entered the ambulance he had requested and arrested him.”

This took place in the village of Susya in the southern West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, according to the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, a nongovernmental organization opposed to settlements. Members of the center confirmed they were present at the scene and documented the incident on video.

In response to a question from Agence France-Presse, the Israeli army said it was verifying this information.

The documentary "No Other Land" was filmed in the Masafer Yatta area near Susya and tells the story of a young Palestinian man fighting against what the United Nations describes as the forced displacement of residents of neighboring villages.

Basil Adra, one of the film's two Palestinian directors, hails from Masafer Yatta, which the Israeli occupation has classified as a military zone.

After a protracted legal battle, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in May 2022 granting the Israeli army the right to classify Masafer Yatta as a military zone, paving the way for the expulsion of residents of eight villages where the army wants to establish a firing range.

The settlements spread throughout the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.