One settler, escorted by two Israeli soldiers, walked straight over to Ballal’s house. Soldiers started shooting in the air to prevent anyone from supporting Ballal, who was shouting for help.

“The soldiers pointed their rifles at me while the settler from behind began beating me,” Ballal said. “They threw me to the ground, and the settler started hitting me on the head. Then a soldier also began beating me; with the butt of his rifle, he struck me on the head. After that, he fired his weapon in the air. I don’t understand Hebrew, but I gathered that he said the next rifle shot would hit me. In that moment, I thought I was going to die.”

Injured, handcuffed and blindfolded, Ballal and two other Palestinians were moved by the soldiers to a military vehicle and then to a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, where they spent the night on the floor and were forced to sleep under a freezing air conditioner.

Ballal said he was beaten by IDF soldiers while in detention. “It was a revenge for our movie,” he said. “I heard the voices of the soldiers, they were laughing about me … I heard [the word] ‘Oscar’.”