From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
IDF court extends remand of suspected Palestinian stone-throwers after settler accused of shooting dead activist released to house arrest
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A military judge has granted an eight-day extension to the remand of four Palestinians suspected of stone-throwing in an incident in which Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen was shot dead, even though the suspected Israeli killer was released on Tuesday to house arrest.
The rulings highlight the differences in treatment between settlers who enjoy full Israeli civil rights and Palestinians who are under Israeli military rule.
Israeli law requires suspects to be brought before a judge for a remand hearing within 24 hours, whereas Israeli military law allows authorities to wait 96 hours before bringing Palestinians before a judge.
Accordingly, Levi’s hearing was held at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday — a day after Hathaleen’s killing — while the Palestinians detained in the incident had to wait until Wednesday before seeing a judge for the first time.
Nasser Odeh, who is representing the four Palestinian suspects, tells the judge at the Ofer Military Court in the West Bank that they had been held with their hands and feet shackled for 13 hours at a military base after their arrest on Monday.
In requesting an additional remand extension against the four Palestinians, the Israel Police’s representative points to damage incurred to Levi’s bulldozer and vehicle, while arguing that Levi felt that his life was in danger when he fired his weapon.
The representative does not explain why Levi had encroached on privately-owned Palestinian land on the edge of Umm al-Khair in the West Bank, where residents have long reported near-daily harassment by settlers from nearby illegal outposts.
Last night, the IDF arrested nine more Palestinians on suspicion of involvement in the incident in which Hathaleen was allegedly shot by Levi — an extremist settler formerly sanctioned by the US under the Biden administration, and still sanctioned by Canada, the UK, and the European Union.
The Times of Israel Community.