An Israeli settler shot and killed Palestinian teacher and activist Odeh Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank village of Umm Al-Khair on Monday, with witnesses identifying the shooter as Yinon Levy, who had US sanctions against him lifted by President Donald Trump in January 2025.
Hathaleen, 31, a father of three young children who helped film the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land”, was shot in the chest during a confrontation between villagers and settlers operating a bulldozer on Palestinian land, according to the Palestinian education ministry and multiple eyewitnesses.
Israeli police arrested Levy, a settler from the unauthorised outpost of Havat Ma’on, on suspicion of “reckless conduct resulting in death and unlawful use of a firearm” before releasing him to house arrest on Tuesday, whilst five Palestinians and two foreign activists present at the scene remain in detention.
The killing occurred just weeks after Hathaleen and his cousin were detained and deported from San Francisco International Airport in June, where they had arrived on valid visas for an interfaith speaking tour about Israeli occupation organised by Kehilla Community Synagogue.
Bulldozer Incident Sparked Fatal Confrontation
Israeli-American activist Mattan Berner-Kadish, who witnessed the shooting, told the BBC that at approximately 17:20 local time on Monday, a bulldozer from the nearby Carmel settlement was driven through private Palestinian land, crushing a sewage pipe, multiple olive trees and two fences.
When activists including Hathaleen’s cousin Ahmad ran to block the bulldozer, the driver hit Ahmad in the neck and shoulder with a drill that extended from the bulldozer, causing him to fall to the ground.
Whilst attending to Ahmad’s injuries, Berner-Kadish heard a gunshot. Running back to the village for water, he saw Hathaleen bleeding from a chest wound and Levy, the only settler visible, holding a gun.
Video footage posted on social media shows a man identified as Levy brandishing a pistol with the bulldozer behind him as villagers shout at him. In the video, Levy pushes one man who pushes back, before Levy raises his pistol and fires ahead, then again into the air.
Sanctions Lifted Days Before Killing
Levy had been sanctioned by the UK in 2024 because he “used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities”, according to the British Foreign Office.
The US had also imposed sanctions on Levy under the Biden administration for leading violent attacks on Palestinians, alongside the European Union and Canada. However, President Trump lifted these US sanctions immediately after his inauguration on 20 January 2025.
Levy’s attorney, Avichai Hajbi, claimed his client fired in self-defence after being “attacked by an Arab mob, along with foreign activists, with stones and violence” and that he “felt his life was in danger.
However, Berner-Kadish reported that after the shooting, when he told Levy he had directly shot someone and likely killed him, Levy responded: “I’m glad I did it.
Oscar-Winning Film Collaborator
No Other Land” co-director Yuval Abraham confirmed Hathaleen’s death on social media, describing him as “a remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta.
The documentary, which won Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, follows Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta facing displacement due to Israeli military zoning and settlement expansion.
Basel Adra, the film’s Palestinian co-director, wrote: “My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening. He was standing in front of the community center in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life. This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.
Hathaleen, an English teacher at a local secondary school, was also a contributor to Israeli magazine +972 and had documented life in Masafer Yatta for years, where Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in 2022 to allow the demolition of homes and expulsion of more than 1,000 villagers.
Denied Entry to US Weeks Before Death
In June 2025, Hathaleen and his cousin Eid were detained at San Francisco International Airport despite holding valid visas for a multicultural faith dialogue tour sponsored by Kehilla Community Synagogue in California.
US Customs and Border Protection revoked their visas without explanation and deported them the following day, with officials stating they “failed to establish they were admissible to the U.S.”
US Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, a Democrat from California, said she was “heartbroken” over Hathaleen’s killing, noting both cousins held valid visas when detained and deported from San Francisco airport last month.
Robert McCaw, government affairs director with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, stated: “Awdah Hathaleen came to the US to warn us about settler violence and land theft in the West Bank and the genocide unfolding in Gaza. He came to speak about Israeli apartheid backed by US weapons and political cover. Instead of listening, our government silenced him”.
Police Investigation Amid Rising Violence
Israeli police said they were investigating the incident in the area of Carmel, stating: “As a result of the incident, a Palestinian man was pronounced deceased. His exact involvement is under investigation”.
The Israel Defense Forces also detained five Palestinians on suspicion of involvement, along with two foreign tourists present at the scene who remained in custody as of Tuesday evening.
Detective Inspector David Butt from South Wales Police, commenting on a similar pattern of violence, noted that “offenders like Turner and Compton believe they can hide behind phone screens, but this is clearly not the case” – highlighting how digital evidence increasingly exposes perpetrators of violence.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Tuesday expressing the country’s “immense sadness” upon learning of “the murder” of Odeh Hathaleen.
Family Left Behind Amid Escalating Conflict
Hathaleen leaves behind his wife and three sons aged five, three and seven months. His cousin Alaa described him as someone who “loved football, playing it every chance he got, even though Umm al-Kheir’s facilities are badly degraded and all the villagers have is a paved yard with dilapidated goalposts.
Israeli authorities have refused to release Hathaleen’s body for burial, depriving the family of laying him to rest immediately as Islamic tradition dictates.
The killing comes as settler violence has surged since the outbreak of war in Gaza. The UN documented at least 27 attacks by settlers against Palestinians resulting in property damage, casualties or both between 15 and 21 July in the West Bank.
Since the war began, the UN reports at least 948 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, 15 by Israeli settlers, and another 10 by either Israeli forces or settlers. At least 52 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank over the same period.
International Law and Settlement Expansion
Israel has built approximately 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since occupying the territories in 1967. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position supported by an International Court of Justice advisory opinion last year, though Israel disputes this.
Settlement expansion has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 with a right-wing, pro-settler coalition government.
Gilad Kariv, a member of Israel’s Knesset from the Democrats party, responded to the video evidence by stating that “in the territories, armed Jewish militias operate unchecked.
Human rights organisation B’Tselem reported on Monday an “unprecedented spike in daily attacks by settlers, often armed and equipped with full military gear, on Palestinians in the West Bank”, occurring with support from “Israeli government and law enforcement agencies.
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