Prominent Palestinian activist shot dead during clash with Israeli settlers in West Bank

Awdah Hathaleen, 31, a prominent Palestinian activist featured in the film “No Other Land,” was allegedly shot and killed earlier this evening near the village of Umm al-Kheir, during clashes with Israeli settlers in the West Bank, at whom a group of Palestinians were allegedly throwing stones.

Hebrew media outlets identified one of the Israelis involved in the clash as Yinon Levi, an extremist settler on whom the United States, under the Biden administration, placed sanctions — measures that were lifted by US President Donald Trump.

Levi allegedly shot toward a group of Palestinians near the settlement of Carmel in the South Hebron Hills. Hathaleen was seriously wounded in the upper body during the clash and later succumbed to his injuries at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

At least two other Palestinians were reportedly wounded in the incident. The Ynet news site reported that Levi was in the area doing permitted construction on a new neighborhood in Carmel, when, according to his account, dozens of rioters threw stones at him and several other Israelis, from nearby Umm al-Khair.

In a statement, the Israel Police say that it is investigating the incident and that an Israeli citizen involved in the shooting was detained at the scene and later arrested by police. Four Palestinians were also detained by the IDF, as well as two foreign tourists, police add.

Following the alleged killing, Labor MK Gilad Kariv asserts that the current Israeli government and the IDF have allowed “armed Jewish militias to operate unchecked.”

“[National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir has paralyzed the police, [Defense Minister Israel] Katz has blocked the Shin Bet’s operations, and the army continues to turn a blind eye,” Kariv writes on X.

“The bloodshed is already a terrible disaster and demands action, but let no one be under any illusion—this will not stop at the Green Line,” he warns.