Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Israel Indicts Settler for Killing Palestinian Activist in West Bank
A man named Yinon Levi is a settler who lives in the West Bank, an area that is at the center of a big disagreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
The police say he fired a gun near a group of people and caused the death of a Palestinian man named Awdah Hathaleen.
Awdah was a teacher, a father of three, and helped make a movie that won an Oscar.
The movie was about his village, where people were being forced to leave their homes.
Now a court says Yinon must go on trial for what happened.
This is the first time since a big war started that an Israeli settler was charged for harming a Palestinian in this way.
Yinon says he was only defending himself and that the charge is unfair.
The Palestinian man's family and human rights groups say the trial is an important step for fairness.
A judge will decide what really happened.
Israel indicted settler Yinon Levi for reckless manslaughter in the July 2025 killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank.
B'Tselem said it is the first time an Israeli has been indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.
Levi also faces charges of armed trespassing and malicious property damage; reckless manslaughter carries a maximum 12-year prison sentence.
Levi said he will fight the charges, arguing prosecutors should not penalize self-defense and accusing them of providing 'de facto support for terrorism.'
Hathaleen, 31, an English teacher and father of three, worked on the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' and was killed in a settler attack on Umm al-Khair.
- Who
- Israeli settler Yinon Levi, charged in the death of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen.
- What
- A first-of-its-kind indictment on reckless manslaughter, armed trespassing, and malicious property damage charges.
- When
- Indictment filed on a Thursday; Hathaleen was killed on July 28, 2025.
- Where
- Umm al-Khair village in the southern West Bank, part of the Masafer Yatta region.
- Why
- A confrontation over earthworks on private land in which Levi allegedly fired toward an area where people were present, causing Hathaleen's death.
Prosecutors and rights groups
Levi's defense
Nature of the killing
Prosecutors and rights groups
A 'very clear case': video shows Levi firing twice into a crowd, causing the death of Hathaleen; Al-Haq's forensic investigation supports the charge.
Levi's defense
Levi says he acted in self-defense and that penalizing self-defense amounts to providing 'de facto support for terrorism.'
Meaning of the indictment
Prosecutors and rights groups
Hathaleen's attorney calls it a very important decision and hopes it becomes a precedent; B'Tselem calls it 'the exception that proves the rule' of a culture of impunity.
Levi's defense
Levi maintains his innocence and says he will fight the charges in court.
- Accused
- Yinon Eliya Levi, 33, from Ma'on
- Charges
- Reckless manslaughter, armed trespassing, malicious property damage
- Victim
- Awdah Hathaleen, 31, English teacher and father of three
- Killing date
- July 28, 2025
- Location
- Umm al-Khair, southern West Bank
- Maximum sentence
- 12 years for reckless manslaughter
- Sanctions
- US and EU sanctions placed on Levi in April 2024
- Precedent
- First Israeli indictment for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank since October 7, 2023