Israeli prosecutors have indicted settler Yinon Levi on reckless manslaughter and related charges over the killing of Palestinian activist Owdeh Hathaleen during a July 2025 confrontation in Umm al-Khair. Footage released by B'Tselem appears to show Levi draw a weapon and fire, and Levi — sanctioned by Britain and the EU — denies the fatal shot. The case is notable as the first settler indictment linked to a Palestinian death since Oct. 7, 2023, amid a period of increased settler violence and significant Palestinian casualties, according to U.N. figures and rights groups.
Rare Indictment: Israeli Settler Charged Over Killing Of Palestinian Activist
FILE PHOTO: Mourners carry the body of well-known Palestinian activist Owdeh Hathaleen, who, according to people who said they witnessed the shooting, was shot and killed in the village of Umm al-Khair by Israeli settler last week, during his funeral near the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/ File Photo
Israeli prosecutors on Thursday filed charges against a Jewish settler over the death last year of a Palestinian community leader in the occupied West Bank, marking a rare criminal indictment in such cases.
In an indictment submitted by the State Attorney's Office, 35-year-old Yinon Levi is accused of reckless manslaughter in the killing of Owdeh Hathaleen, a well-known activist who appeared in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. The indictment also accuses Levi of armed trespassing and malicious property damage related to a July 2025 incident in the village of Umm al-Khair, where settlers operated a large excavator and clashed with residents.
Video evidence released by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem appears to show a man identified as Levi drawing a weapon and firing toward Hathaleen; the footage captures Hathaleen moaning and collapsing after the shot. Levi has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union over alleged violence against Palestinians but has denied firing the fatal shot. Reuters was unable to reach Levi's lawyer for comment.
Rare Indictment
Rights groups say Thursday's indictment is the first of a settler in a Palestinian fatality since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel — a turning point that preceded Israel's military campaign in Gaza and coincided with a sharp rise in settler violence across the West Bank.
FILE PHOTO: Mourners carry the body of well-known Palestinian activist Owdeh Hathaleen, who, according to people who said they witnessed the shooting, was shot and killed in the village of Umm al-Khair by Israeli settler last week, during his funeral near the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/ File Photo
"The decision to indict Yinon Levi is the exception that proves the rule," B'Tselem said, arguing that impunity for soldiers and settlers who harm Palestinians is systemic and enables ongoing violence.
Israel's military says it investigates allegations of wrongdoing by soldiers and that it and the Israeli police take steps to crack down on settler violence. The legal process in this case is ongoing.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers now live among millions of Palestinians in territory Israel captured in the 1967 war — land Palestinians regard as central to a future independent state. U.N. bodies, Palestinians and most countries consider the settlements illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace; Israel disputes that characterization and points to a long Jewish presence in the West Bank.
United Nations figures cited by rights groups say at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the period following Oct. 7, 2023, including about 240 children. UN data also show 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 for the whole of 2025.
(Reporting by Pesha Magid and Maayan Lubell; editing by Rami Ayyub and Andrew Heavens)
Help us improve.
