AVIV TELThe moment a Palestinian activist was shot dead by an Israeli settler during a clash with unarmed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank last month seems to be captured on new video.
Israeli settler Yanon Levi is seen shooting a gun at the person filming in the video, which was made public on Sunday by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. The guy groans in agony as the video cuts, but the camera continues to roll.
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The family of 31-year-old activist, English teacher, and father of three Awdah Hathaleen, who was shot and died on July 28, allegedly provided the video to B Tselem, which claims to have filmed it. An Israeli court briefly detained Levi, who is seen discharging his gun twice in a video taken by another witness and obtained by The Associated Press, before releasing him from house detention on the grounds that there was insufficient proof.
The village where the shooting took place, Umm al-Khair, has long endured settler violence and is featured in the Oscar-winning movie No Other Land.Attacks by Palestinian militants and settlers on Palestinians have increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Sarit Michaeli, the international outreach director for B Tselem, said, “Awdah’s killing is just another horrifying example of how Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are currently living without any protection, completely exposed to Israeli violence, while Israeli soldiers or settlers can kill them in broad daylight and enjoy full impunity while the world watches.”
Prior to being lifted by the Trump administration, Levi was subject to U.S. sanctions.
The altercation between Levi and a group of Palestinians appears to be depicted in both videos. He is seen firing two pistol shots on the prior video, although it is not clear where the bullets hit. The AP was informed by many witnesses that Levi had shot Hathaleen.
Levi’s attorney, Avichai Hajbi, told the AP that Levi acted in self-defense without elaborating on what he did. Hajbi cited a court ruling earlier this month that lifted Levi’s house detention due to a lack of proof. The judge prohibited Levi from interacting with the villagers for a month but stated that he did not represent a threat, thus allowing his house imprisonment to continue.
When asked if they had seen the footage, the Israeli police did not immediately react.
According to B Tselem, Levi was part of a team that transported an excavator into Umm al-Khair from a nearby hamlet. At least one person hurled a stone at the car’s front window, and residents gathered on a dirt road to try to block its passage out of fear that it would cut the village’s main water supply.
Then Levi brandished a revolver and faced the gathering.
In the latest footage, Levi is seen getting into a violent argument with three individuals before shooting the cameraman. According to B Tselem, Hathaleen was standing at the village community center, about 40 meters (130 feet) away from the altercation. It stated that he instantly slumped after the bullet struck his chest.
According to Eitan Peleg, Hathaleen’s family’s attorney, they informed him that Hathaleen had recorded the video using his phone. He claimed that the cops had not seen the footage when they asked for it. Peleg stated that he is requesting that Levi be looked into for more serious offenses by the district court.
Anti-settlement activists claim that Levi assisted in the establishment of a settler outpost next to Umm al-Khair, which is a stronghold for aggressive settlers who have uprooted hundreds of people since the war began. Israeli officials have long been charged by Palestinians and human rights organizations with ignoring settler violence.
Levi denied using violence and told the AP in a 2024 interview that he was defending his own territory.
Israel’s army originally refused to surrender Hathaleen’s body for burial after his murder unless certain requirements were fulfilled, such as restricting the size of the gathering and the venue. About a week later, Hathaleen’s body was retrieved and buried following an arrangement with the authorities.
Hathaleen had contributed to the Oscar-winning film’s production and had written and spoken out against colonial violence. Supporters have staged vigils in New York, displayed signs with his name during anti-war demonstrations in Tel Aviv, and painted murals in his honor in Rome.
