Israeli prosecutors have charged settler Yanin Levy with reckless manslaughter over the July 2025 shooting that killed Palestinian activist Odeh Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank village of Umm al‑Khair.
Hathaleen — a teacher, father of three and prominent critic of settler violence — was a key voice in the Oscar‑winning documentary No Other Land, which documents the legal struggle over the 20‑village community of Masafer Yatta.
The indictment is the first time in almost three years that an Israeli has faced indictment for the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank, B’Tselem said. It marks a potential turning point in holding settlers accountable for violence.
Levy’s lawyer, Avichai Hajbi, said the prosecution had made a “mistaken decision,” and Levy himself appeared in a letter to The Associated Press pledging an innocence fight. He warned prosecutors against penalising self‑defence and accused them of “de‑facto support for terrorism.”
The indictment also covers armed trespassing and malicious property damage. Prosecutors claim Levy, while operating an excavator, fired his gun at residents, striking Hathaleen, and later fired another shot into the air. Surveillance footage of the clash quickly circulated online; Levy has insisted he did not fire the fatal shot.
The case arrives after the 7 October 2023 Hamas‑led attack triggered a surge in settler violence, with the United Nations reporting at least 1,110 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since then, and at least 41 Israelis wounded by armed Palestinian action during the same period.
B’Tselem described the indictment as “the exception that proves the rule,” noting that the longstanding impunity afforded to soldiers and settlers fuels ongoing violence. Mattan Berner‑Kadish, an Israeli‑American activist present at the scene, said people were both hopeful that charges would finally be brought and surprised at the prospect of longer sentences for those involved.
Levy, a leader of an outpost farm, faced UK sanctions in 2024 over aggression and property destruction aimed at displacing Palestinian communities. He denied the allegations to the BBC that same year, and later said U.S. sanctions lifted under the Trump administration. Additional reporting by Mallory Moench.
