Israel charges settler over killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank in rare prosecution

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An Israeli settler has been charged with reckless manslaughter for the killing of a prominent Palestinian activist last year, marking a rare instance of Israel prosecuting a settler for violence against Palestinians.

Prosecutors on Thursday unveiled charges against Yinon Levi, who lives in the south of the West Bank, over the death of Odeh Hathalin in July 2025.

The reckless manslaughter charge carries a lesser punishment than murder under Israeli law, with a maximum prison sentence of 12 years. The indictment, filed at the Beersheba District Court, also includes charges of armed trespassing and malicious property damage.

It is extremely unusual for Israel to charge settlers with violence against Palestinians. The charges against Levi mark the first time since the October 7, 2023 attacks that an Israeli has been indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank, according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

Many settlers are armed, and violence in the West Bank has surged since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Israel has killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, according to B’Tselem. Of those, 37 were killed by Israeli settlers, it said.

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Hathalin, 31, was a prominent voice advocating against settler violence and was involved in the 2025 Oscar-winning film “ No Other Land ,” which documented Palestinian residents’ fight to protect their homes in the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta. Hathalin, a father of three, was shot in the village of Umm al-Khair, in that same community.

Thursday’s indictment alleges that Levi fired toward an area where villagers, including children, had gathered after he had ordered an excavator operator – who was a minor – to clear an unauthorized route across privately owned Palestinian land in Umm al-Khair.

“At one point, the backhoe operator allegedly used the excavator’s digging tooth against one of the individuals standing in its path, striking him and causing injuries to his head and shoulder. Despite this, Levi allegedly signaled the operator to continue driving and to use the backhoe to break through another fence on the property,” a spokesperson for the Southern District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

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Prosecutors said that a confrontation developed between Levi and some of the villagers who had gathered to stop the backhoe by throwing stones. Levi allegedly assaulted two Palestinians in that group.

Levi then readied his handgun, moved away from the group and “fired a single shot parallel to the ground,” in an area where children were also present, the statement said.

Hathalin, who was filming from the courtyard about 20 meters (66 feet) away, was struck and killed, it continued.

Levi, 33, founded the unauthorized Meitarim Farm outpost in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank in 2021.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law by most of the international community and the United Nations, but settlers have successfully established dozens of unauthorized outposts in recent years and eventually secured Israeli government approvals.

In February 2024, Levi became one of the first hardline settlers targeted by US executive sanctions under the Biden administration and was subsequently sanctioned by the UK, Canada and the European Union. US sanctions against Levi and other West Bank settlers were reversed last year as one of Trump’s first executive orders upon his return to office.

The indictment comes as violence in the West Bank continues to escalate.

In late July, the Israeli military launched a large-scale operation there after four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed. The incident began when settlers entered the village of Tell, in an area of the West Bank restricted for Israeli civilians, on what Israeli authorities called an “unauthorized and uncoordinated hike.”

As the group approached the village, clashes broke out between the settlers and residents. In the ensuing gunfire, four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers – one of whom was also a settler – were killed.

Despite video of the incident showing an altercation that escalated and the Israeli military acknowledging that the soldiers’ killings were not premeditated, a major operation was launched and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to accelerate the establishment of more settlement outposts in the area.

This week, Israel’s military said it was unclear whether one of the Israeli soldiers killed in the incident was killed by Palestinian or “incidental” Israeli fire.

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一名以色列定居者因去年杀害一名著名的巴勒斯坦活动人士而被控过失杀人罪，这标志着以色列罕见地起诉定居者对巴勒斯坦人实施暴力行为。

周四，检察官公布了对居住在约旦河西岸南部的伊农·列维的指控，指控他与2025年7月奥德·哈塔林的死亡有关。

根据以色列法律，过失杀人罪的刑罚比谋杀罪轻，最高刑期为12年监禁。提交给贝尔谢巴地区法院的起诉书还包括持械非法侵入和恶意破坏财产的指控。

以色列指控定居者对巴勒斯坦人施暴极其罕见。据以色列人权组织B'Tselem称，对利维的指控标志着自2023年10月7日袭击事件以来，首次有以色列人因在西岸杀害巴勒斯坦人而被起诉。

许多定居者都持有武器，自加沙战争爆发以来，西岸的暴力事件激增。

据以色列人权组织B'Tselem称，自2023年10月以来，以色列在西岸至少杀害了1100名巴勒斯坦人。该组织表示，其中37人是被以色列定居者杀害的。

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31岁的哈塔林是反对定居者暴力的知名人士，他参与拍摄了2025年奥斯卡获奖影片《别无他乡》（No Other Land），该片记录了巴勒斯坦居民在西岸马萨费尔亚塔社区为保护家园而进行的斗争。哈塔林是三个孩子的父亲，他在同一社区的乌姆海尔村被枪杀。

周四的起诉书称，列维在乌姆海尔命令一名未成年挖掘机操作员清理一条未经授权的道路，这条道路穿过巴勒斯坦私人拥有的土地，之后列维向村民（包括儿童）聚集的区域开枪。

“据称，挖掘机操作员一度用挖掘机的铲斗攻击一名挡在挖掘线上的人，导致其头部和肩部受伤。尽管如此，莱维据称仍示意操作员继续驾驶，并用挖掘机撞开该地块上的另一道围栏，”南方地区检察官办公室发言人在一份声明中说。

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检方称，利维与一些聚集起来试图用石头阻止挖掘机作业的村民发生冲突。据称，利维袭击了其中两名巴勒斯坦人。

声明称，随后利维准备好手枪，离开人群，在有儿童在场的区域“平行于地面开了一枪”。

报道称，当时在距离事发地点约 20 米（66 英尺）的院子里拍摄的哈塔林被撞身亡。

33 岁的 Levi 于 2021 年在西岸希伯伦山南部建立了未经授权的 Meitarim 农场前哨站。

根据国际法，大多数国际社会和联合国都认为以色列在被占领的西岸建立的所有定居点都是非法的，但近年来，定居者成功建立了数十个未经授权的前哨站，并最终获得了以色列政府的批准。

2024年2月，莱维成为拜登政府时期首批受到美国行政制裁的强硬派定居者之一，随后又遭到英国、加拿大和欧盟的制裁。去年，特朗普重返白宫后签署的首批行政命令之一，就取消了美国对莱维和其他西岸定居者的制裁。

这份起诉书发布之际，西岸地区的暴力事件仍在持续升级。

7月下旬，在四名巴勒斯坦人和两名以色列士兵丧生后，以色列军方在该地区发起了一场大规模军事行动。事件起因是定居者擅自进入西岸特尔村，该村位于以色列平民禁入区域内。以色列当局称这是一次“未经授权且缺乏协调的行军”。

当这群人接近村庄时，定居者与村民之间爆发了冲突。在随后的枪战中，四名巴勒斯坦人和两名以色列士兵（其中一人也是定居者）丧生。

尽管事件视频显示冲突升级，以色列军方也承认士兵的死亡并非预谋，但以色列还是发动了大规模军事行动，总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡下令军方加快在该地区建立更多定居点前哨。

本周，以色列军方表示，尚不清楚在事件中丧生的以色列士兵中，有一人是被巴勒斯坦人的炮火击毙，还是被以色列的“意外”炮火击毙。