Israeli prosecutors have charged a settler with manslaughter in connection with the death of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank – the first indictment of an Israeli citizen in such a case in over seven years.
The indictment against Yinon Levi, filed in an Israeli district court on Thursday, also includes charges of armed trespassing and intentional property damage.
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said the last time an Israeli civilian was prosecuted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank was in 2019.
Hathaleen, 31, a teacher and father of three, was killed in July 2025 when settlers brought bulldozers into the village of Umm al-Khair to clear land for a new illegal outpost, sparking clashes with local residents.
Video, including footage believed to have been filmed by Hathaleen himself, shows Levi firing toward the crowd.
A separate investigation by the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, released exactly a year after his killing, reconstructed the shooting using video, testimony, and geospatial analysis. It concluded that the fatal wound matched Levi's handgun and that no armed Palestinians were present, undermining his self-defense claim.
The group said Levi was also filmed standing with Israeli forces as he pointed out Palestinians being arrested, while an ambulance trying to reach Hathaleen was blocked as Israeli soldiers and police looked on.
Hathaleen worked on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land and often hosted foreign activists at his home.
Levi's lawyer called the charges a mistake and said he would defend his client in court. Levi is among the settlers sanctioned by the UK and the European Union for violence against Palestinians; Washington lifted similar US sanctions after Donald Trump returned to power in 2025.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem called the indictment “the exception that proves the rule,” arguing that Israel's impunity for settlers and soldiers is a deliberate policy, not a systemic failure.
According to B'Tselem, at least 1,100 Palestinians, including 240 children, have been killed in the West Bank by settlers and soldiers since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
The indictment comes amid a surge in settler violence in the West Bank, with attacks averaging 190 per month in 2026, driven by organized networks such as the Hilltop Youth and armed settler “guard units.”
