On July 28, 2025, Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, 31, was recording with his phone as an armed settler entered the village of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta area of the West Bank. These were his final moments before being shot dead, according to an investigation by the human rights organization Al-Haq.
Al-Haq examined dozens of videos and images, cross-referenced legal testimony, analyzed spatial data, and reconstructed the incident. The findings, published exactly one year after the killing, confirm that Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler, fired the lethal bullet. He remains at large, evading justice.
In court, Levi claimed there was no link between his gunshot and Hathaleen's death. However, a forensic report shows a single bullet to the chest caused fatal bleeding. The 1 cm wound on the victim's chest matched the 9 mm Israeli-made pistol used by Levi—a weapon commonly carried by settlers.
Levi later cited self-defense, but Al-Haq demonstrated there was no immediate threat. No Palestinian at the scene was armed, and Hathaleen was completely harmless when shot.
On the day of the incident, Levi and other Israelis arrived with an excavator to clear land for a new illegal settlement. They encroached on private land belonging to the villagers of Umm al-Khair. Earlier, the excavator's hydraulic hammer had struck the victim's cousin—Ahmad Hathaleen—operated by another settler named Rony Avraham, escalating tensions.
Witnesses recount that Levi attacked several villagers, including two women, before drawing his weapon. Notably, Levi was not arrested at the scene. Instead, he was filmed standing with Israeli forces, pointing at Palestinians and international activists—who were subsequently detained. Although he was arrested after an international outcry, an Israeli court released him after just three days of house arrest.
The report highlights an “operational alignment between the Israeli military and settler actions,” reflected in their protection and the lack of law enforcement. Even an ambulance sent to rescue Hathaleen was blocked by settlers while Israeli soldiers and police looked on. The victim's body was not returned to his family for 10 days, forcing village women to go on a hunger strike to demand burial rights.
Levi, who has a history of harassing residents of Masafer Yatta, is described as a “key settler figure” in the West Bank. He runs the Meitarim farm—an illegal settlement—and recruits from the Hashomer Yosh group, which sends volunteers to outposts like his. The report, titled “The Killing of Awdah Hathaleen: Not Just a Settler Crime,” emphasizes that settler violence is not an isolated act but a recurring pattern backed by the state.
According to the United Nations, attacks by Israeli settlers have increased in recent years. They create a hostile environment, driving Palestinians off their land and replacing it with illegal settlements. For Palestinians, mobile phones become the only tool to document the truth and seek justice—which remains elusive.
