Latest news with #WestBank
CNN
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Israeli settler kills Palestinian activist who worked on Oscar-winning film
FacebookTweetLink A prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary died on Monday after being shot by a Jewish settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. Odeh Hathalin, who was a consultant on 'No Other Land,' a film that documents Israeli settler and military attacks on the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, was shot in the village of Umm al-Khair, in that same community. Israeli police said its forces arrived at the scene and detained an Israeli civilian, who was later arrested for questioning. Police did not identify the man they arrested. The Israeli military claimed that 'terrorists hurled rocks toward Israeli civilians near Carmel,' an Israeli settlement near Umm al-Khair. Hathalin's shooting was first reported by Yuval Abraham, the Israeli investigative journalist who co-directed 'No Other Land.' Abraham said Hathalin was 'shot in the upper body' and was in critical condition. Later, the Palestinian health ministry said he had died of his injuries. Many settlers are armed, and violence in the West Bank has surged since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Settlers have a strong influence on Israeli politics, and in the rare cases where they are arrested for violent attacks against Palestinians, they are often released without charge. Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are illegal under international law. Ofer Cassif, a left-wing member of Israel's parliament, has demanded that authorities launch an investigation into Hathalin's death. 'The incident occurred in broad daylight, in front of cameras, with no fear of legal consequences – testament to the paralysis of law enforcement and the complete sense of immunity enjoyed by violent settlers,' Cassif wrote in a letter to Israel's Attorney General. Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and a co-director of 'No Other Land,' shared testimony to his 'dear friend' Hathalin. 'He was standing in front of the community settler in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life. This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time,' Adra wrote in a post on Instagram. Last month, Hathalin was detained at San Francisco International Airport upon arrival and deported after immigration officials revoked his visa, local media reported. He had been invited to visit a California synagogue as part of an interfaith speaking tour. CNN reported in March that settlers had also targeted Hamdan Ballal, another co-director of 'No Other Land,' outside his home in the village of Susya, also in Masser Yatta. Ballal, who had recently returned from Los Angeles to accept an Oscar for the film, told CNN he thought the group of settlers would kill him. He was detained by Israeli soldiers, handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten. The film 'No Other Land,' which tracked the destruction of the Masser Yatta community between 2019 and 2023, won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars. Its final scene shows Adra's cousin, Zakara al-Adra, being shot by an Israeli settler in October 2023. Previous reporting from CNN's Kara Fox, Kareem Khadder and Jeremy Diamond.
CNN
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Israeli settler kills Palestinian activist who worked on Oscar-winning film
A prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary died on Monday after being shot by a Jewish settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. Odeh Hathalin, who was a consultant on 'No Other Land,' a film that documents Israeli settler and military attacks on the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, was shot in the village of Umm al-Khair, in that same community. Israeli police said its forces arrived at the scene and detained an Israeli civilian, who was later arrested for questioning. Police did not identify the man they arrested. The Israeli military claimed that 'terrorists hurled rocks toward Israeli civilians near Carmel,' an Israeli settlement near Umm al-Khair. Hathalin's shooting was first reported by Yuval Abraham, the Israeli investigative journalist who co-directed 'No Other Land.' Abraham said Hathalin was 'shot in the upper body' and was in critical condition. Later, the Palestinian health ministry said he had died of his injuries. Many settlers are armed, and violence in the West Bank has surged since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Settlers have a strong influence on Israeli politics, and in the rare cases where they are arrested for violent attacks against Palestinians, they are often released without charge. Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are illegal under international law. Ofer Cassif, a left-wing member of Israel's parliament, has demanded that authorities launch an investigation into Hathalin's death. 'The incident occurred in broad daylight, in front of cameras, with no fear of legal consequences – testament to the paralysis of law enforcement and the complete sense of immunity enjoyed by violent settlers,' Cassif wrote in a letter to Israel's Attorney General. Basel Adra, a Palestinian journalist and a co-director of 'No Other Land,' shared testimony to his 'dear friend' Hathalin. 'He was standing in front of the community settler in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life. This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time,' Adra wrote in a post on Instagram. Last month, Hathalin was detained at San Francisco International Airport upon arrival and deported after immigration officials revoked his visa, local media reported. He had been invited to visit a California synagogue as part of an interfaith speaking tour. CNN reported in March that settlers had also targeted Hamdan Ballal, another co-director of 'No Other Land,' outside his home in the village of Susya, also in Masser Yatta. Ballal, who had recently returned from Los Angeles to accept an Oscar for the film, told CNN he thought the group of settlers would kill him. He was detained by Israeli soldiers, handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten. The film 'No Other Land,' which tracked the destruction of the Masser Yatta community between 2019 and 2023, won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars. Its final scene shows Adra's cousin, Zakara al-Adra, being shot by an Israeli settler in October 2023. Previous reporting from CNN's Kara Fox, Kareem Khadder and Jeremy Diamond.
Al Jazeera
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Al Jazeera
Video: Israeli settler kills OWB activist involved in Oscar-winning film
Israeli settler kills OWB activist involved in Oscar-winning film NewsFeed Activist, football player and participant in Oscar-winning film Odeh Hadalin was shot in the chest and killed by an Israeli settler, in the Occupied West Bank. The shooter, Yinon Levi, has been under sanctions by both the EU and the US. Video Duration 01 minutes 29 seconds 01:29 Video Duration 01 minutes 15 seconds 01:15 Video Duration 01 minutes 13 seconds 01:13 Video Duration 02 minutes 51 seconds 02:51 Video Duration 02 minutes 47 seconds 02:47 Video Duration 00 minutes 44 seconds 00:44 Video Duration 02 minutes 00 seconds 02:00
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestinian who helped make Oscar-winning No Other Land killed in West Bank
Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been killed during an attack by Israeli settlers in the south Hebron hills. The attack on Monday was captured on video, which appears to show an Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, who was put under sanctions by the US president Joe Biden then removed from the sanctions list by Donald Trump, firing his gun wildly at the time of the killing. He was later arrested by Israeli police for questioning, though no charges have been filed against him. The killing comes amid an increasing wave of settler and Israeli military violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. At least 1,009 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank since October 2023. Accountability for settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians is rare. According to activists from the village of Umm al-Khair in the West Bank, where the shooting took place, the killing happened after a settler in a bulldozer drove through their land, destroying trees and property. When a resident approached to ask the driver of the bulldozer to stop, the driver knocked him down with the blade of the bulldozer. Residents began to throw stones, and Levi allegedly emerged from the settlement and began firing. Hathaleen, who was standing a distance away from the confrontation, was then struck by a bullet. 'My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening,' Basel Adra, the Palestinian co-director of the No Other Land documentary wrote. '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. This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time.' Activists shared the last message Hathaleen sent before being killed, in which he urged people to act to stop settler encroachment on Umm al-Khair. 'The settlers are working behind our houses and … they tried to cut the main water pipe for the community … If you can reach people like the Congress, courts, whatever, please do everything,' Hathaleen wrote. Yuval Abraham, the Israeli co-director of the film about the Israeli efforts to remove Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta, shared video on social media of the settler shooting during the attack on the village. The Palestinian Authority's education ministry accused Israeli settlers in the West Bank of killing the activist, writing on social media that Awdah Hathaleen 'was shot dead by settlers ... during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair' near Hebron, in the south of the occupied territory. The Israeli military acknowledged the incident, and said an armed 'Israeli civilian' opened fire at a group of people hurling rocks. The Israeli police said they arrested one Israeli citizen for questioning and that they were investigating the incident, while the military arrested seven people from Umm al-Khair, including two international solidarity activists. 'Following the incident, the death of a Palestinian was confirmed,' the police added. Settlers said they would demonstrate outside the Jerusalem courthouse where Levi was taken for questioning, saying he was 'standing at the forefront' for them. Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a string of hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, which have been declared a military zone by Israel. The efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary. Last month, Hathaleen and his cousin Eid al-Hathaleen, an artist and community leader, were denied entry to the US at San Francisco international airport, after their visas were revoked on arrival for a series of planned talks sponsored by faith groups. The San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who protested against the decision to revoke the visas of the two men and deport them, wrote in a statement on X on Monday: 'Just a few weeks ago, Awdah attempted to come to San Francisco to build bridges between cultures – to share a message of peace. He had come to raise summer camp funds to help give Palestinian children experiencing the unthinkable a semblance of a childhood back home. Instead, he was denied entry at SFO.' 'This is an absolute tragedy, and must be condemned,' Mahmood added. Trump removed the sanctions Biden imposed on Levi and more than a dozen other extremist settlers and organisations that terrorise Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on his first day in office in January. Levi is under both EU and UK sanctions. Hathaleen also documented the campaign of forced expulsions and demolitions for the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972. Last week, in a report headlined 'In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma', he wrote: 'The demolition forces enter the village. All the children run to their mothers, who scramble to salvage whatever they can from their homes before it's too late. Everyone watches on anxiously to see who will be made homeless today. The bulldozers gather in the centre of the village and then stop. Soldiers disembark. The villagers look each other in the eye, searching for words of comfort, but there are none. Our children ask us why this is happening, but we have no answers.' AFP contributed to this report
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestinian who helped make Oscar-winning No Other Land killed in West Bank
Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been killed during an attack by Israeli settlers in the south Hebron hills. The attack on Monday was captured on video, which appears to show an Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, who was put under sanctions by the US president Joe Biden then removed from the sanctions list by Donald Trump, firing his gun wildly at the time of the killing. He was later arrested by Israeli police for questioning, though no charges have been filed against him. The killing comes amid an increasing wave of settler and Israeli military violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. At least 1,009 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank since October 2023. Accountability for settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians is rare. According to activists from the village of Umm al-Khair in the West Bank, where the shooting took place, the killing happened after a settler in a bulldozer drove through their land, destroying trees and property. When a resident approached to ask the driver of the bulldozer to stop, the driver knocked him down with the blade of the bulldozer. Residents began to throw stones, and Levi allegedly emerged from the settlement and began firing. Hathaleen, who was standing a distance away from the confrontation, was then struck by a bullet. 'My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening,' Basel Adra, the Palestinian co-director of the No Other Land documentary wrote. '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. This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time.' Activists shared the last message Hathaleen sent before being killed, in which he urged people to act to stop settler encroachment on Umm al-Khair. 'The settlers are working behind our houses and … they tried to cut the main water pipe for the community … If you can reach people like the Congress, courts, whatever, please do everything,' Hathaleen wrote. Yuval Abraham, the Israeli co-director of the film about the Israeli efforts to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta, shared video on social media of the settler shooting during the attack on the village. The Palestinian Authority's education ministry accused Israeli settlers in the West Bank of killing the activist, writing on social media that Awdah Hathaleen 'was shot dead by settlers ... during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair' near Hebron, in the south of the occupied territory. The Israeli military acknowledged the incident, and said an armed 'Israeli civilian' opened fire at a group of people hurling rocks. The Israeli police said they arrested one Israeli citizen for questioning and that they were investigating the incident, while the military arrested seven people from Umm al-Khair, including two international solidarity activists. 'Following the incident, the death of a Palestinian was confirmed,' the police added. Settlers said they would demonstrate outside the Jerusalem courthouse where Levi was taken for questioning, saying he was 'standing at the forefront' for them. Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a string of hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, which have been declared a military zone by Israel. The efforts to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary. Last month, Hathaleen and his cousin Eid al-Hathaleen, an artist and community leader, were denied entry to the US at San Francisco international airport, after their visas were revoked on arrival for a series of planned talks sponsored by faith groups. The San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who protested against the decision to revoke the visas of the two men and deport them, wrote in a statement on X on Monday: 'Just a few weeks ago, Awdah attempted to come to San Francisco to build bridges between cultures – to share a message of peace. He had come to raise summer camp funds to help give Palestinian children experiencing the unthinkable a semblance of a childhood back home. Instead, he was denied entry at SFO.' 'This is an absolute tragedy, and must be condemned,' Mahmood added. Trump removed the sanctions Biden imposed on Levi and more than a dozen other extremist settlers and organisations that terrorise Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on his first day in office in January. Levi is under both EU and UK sanctions. Hathaleen also documented the campaign of forced expulsions and demolitions for the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972. Last week, in a report headlined 'In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma', he wrote: 'The demolition forces enter the village. All the children run to their mothers, who scramble to salvage whatever they can from their homes before it's too late. Everyone watches on anxiously to see who will be made homeless today. The bulldozers gather in the centre of the village and then stop. Soldiers disembark. The villagers look each other in the eye, searching for words of comfort, but there are none. Our children ask us why this is happening, but we have no answers.' AFP contributed to this report
