Palestinian Awdah Hathaleen was from Masafer Yatta, a community whose resistance to Israeli settler violence was documented in the Oscar-winning film No Other Land.
An Israeli settler has shot and killed Palestinian activist and teacher Awdah Hathaleen in a village near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, local officials and journalists said.
Hathaleen was well known for his activism, including helping the creators of the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, which documents Israeli settler and soldier attacks on the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta.
He “was shot dead by settlers … during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair”, in Masafer Yatta, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education wrote on social media late on Monday.
The two filmmakers behind No Other Land – Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra – also confirmed that the activist was shot and killed.
“My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening,” Adra wrote on social media. “He was standing in front of the community centre in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life,” he said.
“This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.”
Co-director Abraham described Hathaleen as “a remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta”.
Abraham also posted a video of the incident and said that “residents identified Yinon Levi, sanctioned by the EU and US, as the shooter”.
Israeli police acknowledged that they were investigating an “incident near Carmel [al-Karmil]”, an illegal Israeli settlement neighbouring Umm al-Khair.
“An Israeli citizen was detained at the scene and then arrested by police for questioning,” a police statement said.
Israeli soldiers also arrested four Palestinians “in connection with the incident, along with two foreign tourists who were at the scene”, the police said.
“Following the incident, the death of a Palestinian was confirmed; his exact involvement in the incident is being verified,” the police added.
The Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that a second Palestinian was injured in the attack after being beaten by a settler. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, Wafa added.
Hathaleen was from Masafer Yatta, a string of Palestinian hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, where residents have fought for decades to remain in their homes after Israel declared the area an Israeli military “firing” or training zone.
Hathaleen’s killing comes as Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem released a report on Monday accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
B’Tselem also said that there has been an “unprecedented spike in daily attacks by settlers, often armed and equipped with full military gear, on Palestinians in the West Bank”.
“These attacks include arson, theft, home invasions and takeovers, armed threats, beatings, and more,” B’Tselem said, and occur with the support of the “Israeli government and law enforcement agencies”.
About 3 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, alongside nearly half a million Israelis living in settlements, which are illegal under international law.
Earlier, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that 27-year-old Mohammad Samer Suleiman al-Jamal succumbed to his wounds after being shot by Israeli forces at a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Hebron on Monday night, the Wafa news agency reported. The Israeli forces left Suleiman al-Jamal to bleed to death and prevented ambulance crews from reaching him, Wafa added.
Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. More than 30 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in the occupied West Bank during the same period.
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