Israeli settler kills West Bank activist who worked on Oscar-winning film
Hadalin 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.
Hadalin 'was shot dead by settlers… during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair' near Hebron, 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 Awdah 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'.
'This is him in the video firing like crazy,' Abraham said.
Odeh just died. Murdered. https://t.co/rRWqSa48iN
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) July 28, 2025
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.
Hadalin 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.
Their efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes were the subject of No Other Land, which won best documentary at the Oscars in March.
Hadalin's death comes as Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem released a report on Monday accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
B'Tselem 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israeli settler seen shooting OWB activist freed from house arrest
NewsFeed Israeli settler seen shooting OWB activist freed from house arrest Israeli settler Yinon Levi, who shot and killed Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank, was released just days after the attack. Meanwhile, Israel continues to hold Awdah's body, prompting 60 women from his village to go on hunger strike.
Al Jazeera
13 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Australia's FM warns of ‘risk there will be no Palestine left to recognise'
Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong has told the country's media that 'there is a risk there will be no Palestine left to recognise', amid Israel's devastating war on Gaza and increasing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Wong, who did not indicate that Australia plans to change its stance and recognise Palestinian statehood, made her comments in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC) on Tuesday morning, where she responded to questions about a mass protest in Sydney attended by hundreds of thousands of people rallying against Israel's war on Gaza. Organisers said that between 200,000 and 300,000 people joined the protest across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday. Police had initially estimated that about 90,000 people took part. Wong said the Australian government shared the protesters 'desire for peace and a ceasefire', and that the huge turnout reflected 'the broad Australian community's horror' and the 'distress of Australians, on what we are seeing unfolding in Gaza, the catastrophic humanitarian situation, the deaths of women and children, the withholding of aid'. However, asked if Australia was considering taking any more concrete actions, such as imposing sanctions on Israel, Wong said: 'We don't speculate on sanctions for the obvious reason that they have more effect if they are not flagged.' She noted that Australia had already imposed sanctions on two far-right ministers in Netanyahu's government, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in June this year, as well as 'extremist' Israeli settlers. On Australia's position regarding Palestinian statehood, Wong said: 'In relation to recognition, I've said for over a year now, it's a matter of when, not if.' Wong's interview came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is reportedly seeking to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of Sunday's protest. Responding to questions about what he plans to discuss with Netanyahu, Albanese said he would again express his support for a two-state solution. Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said that the 'only business' that Albanese should be discussing with Netanyahu is cancelling the 'two-way arms trade between Australia and and Israel, new sanctions measures, and Netanyahu's one-way trip to the [International Criminal Court] to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges'. Albanese 'must not give legitimacy to an accused war criminal', Arraf wrote in a post on X. While both Albanese and Wong have continued to emphasise the importance of a two-state solution, Australia has yet to follow other countries, including France and Canada, that have recently announced their plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, and join the vast majority of countries which already do so. Albanese also had a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, the first publicly recorded call between the pair since November 2023, according to the ABC. Responding to questions about the Sydney protest rally, Albanese said: 'It's not surprising that so many Australians have been affected in order to want to show their concern at people being deprived of food and water and essential services.' But the state government in New South Wales, which is led by Albanese's Labor Party, had sought to prevent the march from crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the week leading up to the protest. The protest only went ahead after State Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg ruled that 'the march at this location is motivated by the belief that the horror and urgency of the situation in Gaza demands an urgent and extraordinary response from the people of the world'. 'The evidence indicates there is significant support for the march,' Rigg added. A number of state and federal Labor ministers also took part in the march, in an indication of a growing divide within Albanese's party. Independent journalist Antony Loewenstein told Al Jazeera that Sunday's march showed that Australians are 'frustrated that our government is doing little more than talk at this point'. 'People are so outraged, not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also the Australian government's complicity,' said Loewenstein, who spoke at the march on Sunday. Australia 'is part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, which Israel is using over Gaza every day, and the parts that are amongst those parts in the plane are probably coming from Australia', he said.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Palestinian women on hunger strike to demand body of slain activist
More than 60 Palestinian women are staging a hunger strike to demand the release of the body of Palestinian activist and English teacher Awdah Hathaleen, who was shot dead last week in the village of Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Two women have received medical treatment as a result of the collective action, which started on Thursday. The group is demanding the unconditional release of the body of the 31-year-old community leader who co-directed No Other Land, a documentary film that won an Oscar award this year. Israeli police set several conditions, including holding a quick and quiet burial at night outside the village, with no more than 15 people in attendance. The protesters are also demanding the release of seven Umm al-Kheir residents arrested by Israeli forces who remain in administrative detention – a quasi-judicial process under which Palestinians are held without charge or trial. Umm al-Kheir is part of 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. Iman Hathaleen, Awdah's cousin, said women aged 13 to 70 were taking part in the hunger strike. 'Now, as I'm talking, I am starving and I am breastfeeding,' she told Al Jazeera. 'We will continue this until they release the body, so that we can honour him with the right Islamic tradition. We have to grieve him as our religion told us to.' Awdah was taken by an ambulance to Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva on July 28, where he was pronounced dead after having been shot by an Israeli settler. The police transferred his body to the Abu Kabir National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Jaffa for an autopsy, which was completed on Wednesday. They then refused to return the body unless the family agreed to restrictive conditions on the funeral and burial. 'A tactic to break their spirit' Fathi Nimer, a researcher at the Al-Shabaka think tank, said Israel's policy of withholding the body of a Palestinian was common practice. 'This is not an isolated incident; there are hundreds of Palestinians whose bodies are used as bargaining chips so that their families stop any kind of activism or resistance or to break the spirit of resistance,' Nimer told Al Jazeera. 'Awdah was very loved in the village, so this is a tactic to break their spirit,' he added. Meanwhile, Yinon Levi, the Israeli settler accused of firing the deadly shots, was released after spending a few days on house arrest. A video of the incident filmed by local activists shows Levi opening fire on Awdah, who died from a gunshot wound to his chest. An Israeli settler just shot Odeh Hadalin in the lungs, a remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta. Residents identified Yinon Levi, sanctioned by the EU and US, as the shooter. This is him in the video firing like crazy. — Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) July 28, 2025 Residents in Umm al-Kheir on Monday documented Levi's return to the area. Pictures shared on social media groups depicted him overseeing bulldozing work alongside army officers at the nearby Carmel settlement. Levi is among several Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank who were previously sanctioned under the former administration of United States President Joe Biden for perpetrating violence against Palestinians. US President Donald Trump reversed those sanctions in an executive order shortly after taking office for a second term in January. The United Kingdom and the European Union, however, maintain sanctions against Levi. Nimer said sanctions against individuals do little to stop settler violence and the expansion of Israel's illegal outposts. 'It's not just individuals – there needs to be real international action to sanction Israel and to stop any of this kind of behaviour,' he said. A 'continuous trauma' Iman, Awdah's cousin, said Levi's return makes her worried about her family's safety. 'Today, we are afraid that he's back and can do this again, maybe he will shoot someone else,' she told Al Jazeera. Her father, Suleiman Hathaleen, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2022. Oneg Ben Dror, a Jaffa-based activist and friend of the Hathaleen family, said the hunger strike was a desperate gesture for a community that has lost all hope of obtaining justice via legal means. 'The women feel that it's their way to protest, it's a last resort to bring back the body,' she said. 'The community needs the possibility to mourn and… start the recovery from this horrible murder.' She added that the presence of Levi and other settlers on the ground in Umm al-Kheir was a 'continuous trauma and a nightmare for the community and for his wife', who has been widowed while caring for three young children. Dozens of left-wing Israeli and international activists on Sunday took part in a march in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to echo the demands voiced by the hunger strikers. Four activists were arrested during the demonstrations. The United Nations office has reported 757 settler attacks on Palestinians since January, up 13 percent from 2024, as deaths since January near 1,000. The Israeli army has also intensified raids across the occupied West Bank and the demolition of hundreds of homes. On Monday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin. The Israeli municipality also issued a demolition order targeting the home of Palestinian residents in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinian authorities say 198 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, while 538 were killed in 2024. At least 188 bodies are still being withheld by Israeli authorities.
