Oscar winning Palestinian journalist shot and killed by Israeli settler

Photo / ICAHD

One week ago, witnesses saw Awdah Hathaleen die at the hands of an Israeli settler. The 31-year-old Palestinian activist, whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, died on the occupied West Bank. 

The suspected shooter, Yinon Levi, was detained and swiftly released the next day. Levi was suspected of reckless conduct in death and unlawful use of a firearm, but an Israeli judge released him on house arrest, according to his lawyer.  

The Israeli police also said four Palestinians and two foreign nationals were detained in connection with the incident.  

Fellow filmmaker, Yuval Abraham announced his colleague’s death the day off, writing on X, “[Hathaleen] just died. Murdered.” 

Just two hours prior, Abraham shared a video of the confrontation that led to Hathaleen’s death. In the video, the accused settler Levi can be seen shoving people in a group, pulling out and pointing his pistol in their direction. The video shows him firing at people who were off-screen. 

In the caption of the video, filmmaker Abraham writes that the settler “just shot” Hathaleen in the lungs, and identified the shooter as Yinon Levi. But Levi’s lawyer had argued his client was acting in self-defense, saying he shot into the air to protect himself. 

Levi owns a farm, an illegal settlement near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to the New York Times. The owner of an earthworks company, Levi previously worked with the Israeli miliary to bulldoze at least one Palestinian village in the West Bank. 

The Biden administration had accused Levi and 12 other settlers of violence and intimidation against Palestinians and imposed sanctions on him.  

But President Trump had reversed the penalties, calling the sanctions “deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal and radical practices.” 

Regarding Hathaleen’s death, hope for a resolution is low, with Israeli human rights groups have said Palestinians attacked by settlers often have little legal recourse.