West Bank Palestinian killed in attack by settlers

Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been killed during an attack by Israeli settlers in the south Hebron hills, prompting a wave of condemnation of what was described as state impunity for Israeli settler violence.

- William Christou Quique Kierszenbaum Umm al-Khair

A video taken on Monday appears to show an Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, who was put under sanctions by Joe Biden then removed from the sanctions list by Donald Trump, firing his gun at residents of the village of Umm al-Khair at the time of the killing.

He was arrested by Israeli police for questioning but was later released on house arrest while an investigation continued.

Alaa Hathaleen, Awdah's brother-in-law, who was present at the time of the killing, speaking at a tent set up for mourners yesterday, said: "[Levi] immediately started firing randomly at everyone. We told him, "There are a lot of people here, there are kids - don't shoot!" But he shot anyway. Awdah wasn't even involved."

The killing came amid an increasing wave of settler and Israeli military violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. At least 1,009 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank since October 2023.

Accountability for settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians is rare. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

According to activists from Umm al-Khair, the killing happened after a settler drove a bulldozer through their land, destroying trees and property. The village sits right below the Israeli settlement of Carmel, founded in 1980.