On Monday 27 July, unarmed Palestinian Awdah Muhammad Khalil Al-Hathaleen was shot dead by a colonial Israeli settler, in the Southern West Bank village of Umm Al Kheir in Masafer Yatta, near Hebron.
Yinon Levi: an Israeli settler already sanctioned by the UK, EU, and Canada
Awdah, 31, was a father of three young children, and an English teacher at a local secondary school. A peaceful community member and activist, he helped film Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land and was also a keen footballer, playing for his local team. Everyone in the community is in shock over his loss.
The gunman, known as Yinon Levi, was filmed shooting at the villagers while settlers were raiding Umm Al Kheir:
Levi is the founder of the Meitarim Farm outpost, an illegal settlement in the South Hebron Hills known for leading physical attacks against Palestinians and destroying their property. He is sanctioned by the UK, the EU, Canada and, until Trump became President, the US. But since gaining power Trump has removed all US sanctions on these armed settlers, and their organisations.
The occupation forces allow no grieving for the victim, and community still waiting to receive his body
After killing Awdah, video evidence shows Levi giving instructions to the occupying forces to arrest Palestinians. As a result, residents of the village were arrested and still remain in detention, while Levi has been released and placed under temporary house arrest. On the same day as releasing Levi, Israeli occupation forces broke into Awdah’s mourning tent, where people were offering condolences to his family, made everyone leave, and removed the tent.
The family has still not been given Awdah’s body, so the residents of Umm Al Kheir last night put out this urgent update to the international community:
We are experiencing extremely difficult circumstances in Khirbet Umm Al Kheir. Until now, we have been prevented from receiving the body of our martyr, and burying him. 14 young men have been arrested so far.
All journalists and international solidarity activists have been expelled from the village. This is a message of appeal and clarification regarding the harsh conditions and real suffering we are experiencing.
We kindly urge you to share our message across all platforms and through all means, so the world will know what is happening in Khirbet Umm Al Kheir- the suffering and the attempt to forcibly displace residents from their land.
Israeli settler attacks are frequent and violent in Masafer Yatta
Masafer Yatta is a cluster of Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank that faces severe threats from Israeli settlers and the military. Palestinian communities there, as with many places in the West Bank, are subjected to frequent state-backed settler attacks including vandalism, destruction of property, uprooting of olive saplings, poisoning of water supplies, and physical assaults, which often occur with the protection or presence of the Israeli army – which turns a blind eye to the crimes committed.
Much of Masafer Yatta has been designated part of ‘Firing Zone 918’, a closed military training zone declared in the 1980s, which has been used as a pretext for evictions and demolition orders over the decades.
Approximately 1,150 Palestinians living in about 180 families are at risk of being forcibly displaced. Some villages have already been entirely demolished and no longer exist. Israeli court rulings in 2022 authorized the eviction of residents from eight villages, and further directives have been issued to reject all Palestinian building applications in the area, accelerating displacement processes.
Israeli settlers and settlements illegal under international law
Whether in Gaza or the West Bank, the occupation has one goal – to ethnically cleanse Palestine of the Palestinians, so the land will belong to Zionists only. There has been a huge increase in settler attacks, not only in Masafer Yatta, but throughout the West Bank.
During the first half of this year, more than 750 settler attacks have resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage – a 13% increase on the same period in 2024.
Settlements and settlers in the West Bank are illegal under international law, as the International Court of Justice and multiple UN resolutions have declared Israel’s occupation and settlement activities a violation of humanitarian law and a breach of Palestinians’ right to self-determination. Despite this, Israel continues building and expanding numerous settlements, including unauthorized outposts, very often with full state support.
700,000 of these illegal settlers currently live throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and their numbers are rapidly increasing, with the Israeli government recently approving the establishment of 22 new settlements—the biggest expansion in decades. Plans for over 30,000 new housing units in existing or new settlements are also underway.
Featured image and additional images supplied
