Israeli settler arrested over killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank

By Aaron Boxerman

An Israeli settler has shot and killed a well-known Palestinian activist whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” according to witnesses, the latest deadly episode in the Israeli-occupied territory.

The activist, Awdah Hathaleen, 31, was an English teacher from the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Khair. Footage he filmed was included in the documentary, which depicted the challenges Palestinians living in the territory face under Israeli rule.

Hathaleen was shot Monday during a confrontation with Israeli settlers, two witnesses said. He was rushed to a hospital in Israel and was pronounced dead of his wounds, his family said.

Israeli police said Yinon Levi was the suspect in the shooting and was detained on suspicion of “reckless conduct resulting in death and unlawful use of a firearm.” Levi owns a farm, an illegal settlement near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. An Israeli judge released Levi on house arrest Tuesday, according to Avichai Hajbi, his lawyer.

Four Palestinians and two foreign nationals were also detained in connection with the incident, according to Israeli police. It was unclear whether they were still in custody as of Tuesday evening.

The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Levi after accusing him of violence and intimidation against Palestinians. Levi also owns an earthworks company and has worked with the Israeli military to bulldoze at least one Palestinian village in the West Bank.

President Donald Trump removed the penalties against Levi and other settlers accused of extremist violence after assuming office in January, and called the sanctions “deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal and radical practices.”

Hajbi said Levi had acted in self-defense. He said that Levi was confronted by local Palestinians hurling stones and believed his life was in danger, so he shot into the air to protect himself.

Roughly 2.7 million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside some 500,000 Israeli settlers. Israel presides over a two-tiered legal system in the West Bank: Palestinians are subject to military law. In theory, settlers are also subject to military law, but in practice, they are treated according to Israeli civilian law.

Israeli human rights groups say Palestinians attacked by settlers often have little legal recourse. Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group that examined more than 1,700 cases of Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank from 2005 to 2024, found that just 3% ended in a full or partial conviction.

Umm al-Khair, Hathaleen’s hometown, is a village of modest shacks, many of which do not have running water or connections to the power grid. It abuts the Israeli settlement of Carmel, whose residents live in air-conditioned houses.

The deadly shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Monday. A group of Palestinians confronted Levi after he and a colleague bulldozed a path through the fields of Umm al-Khair, according to witnesses. Hajbi said his client had been working on a new neighborhood of Carmel.

In video from the scene that was verified by The New York Times, Levi can be seen tussling with a Palestinian as he waves a gun. At least three stones flew overhead in the direction of the tractor before Levi cocked his pistol and fired, the video showed.

“Get back!” Levi shouted in the video, before discharging his weapon again.

Hathaleen was standing about 150 feet away at a community center, according to Alaa Hathaleen, his cousin, and Mattan Berner-Kadish, an American Jewish activist, both of whom were present.

“He was watching from far away. He was inside the village, inside the community center, beyond the fence,” Alaa Hathaleen said in a phone interview. “But the settler shot him and killed him.”

Berner-Kadish said in an interview that he had heard the shots and run to Hathaleen, where he found him bleeding out. He said he then headed toward where a group of Palestinians had gathered and Levi was still holding his pistol.

Israeli soldiers later arrived. Levi pointed out some Palestinians whom he wanted arrested, leading the soldiers to “come and grab a bunch of them,” Berner-Kadish said.

Hathaleen and Berner-Kadish had known each other for years. The two were planning to build a soccer field in Umm al-Khair after Berner-Kadish had secured funding.

Berner-Kadish said Hathaleen, a father of three, told him during one of their final conversations that he was unsure if he could bear to continue living in the West Bank under Israeli military rule.

Palestinians in the West Bank must often transit through Israeli checkpoints to move within or out of the territory and fear Israeli military raids that often turn deadly. Israeli officials say the measures are security procedures to prevent attacks on their citizens.

“‘If this is the reality my kids are going to live in forever,’” Berner-Kadish recalled Hathaleen saying, “‘I can’t stay here; I can’t do that to my children.’”

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers arrived in the village — where dozens of Palestinians, as well as some activists — had gathered to mourn Hathaleen. Troops hurled stun grenades and dispersed the crowd by force, said Yehuda Shaul, a left-wing Israeli activist on the scene. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.