Israeli prosecutors have charged a settler over the killing of a Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank who helped film the Oscar‑winning documentary No Other Land.
Yinon Levy was charged with reckless manslaughter by the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office for the July 2025 shooting of Odeh Hathaleen.
B’Tselem said it was the first indictment against an Israeli for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank in nearly three years.
A lawyer for Hathaleen’s family called the charges a “turning point” in holding settlers accountable for violence.
In a letter to the Associated Press, Levy vowed to prove his innocence in court and claimed prosecutorial action would punish self‑defence.
Levy’s lawyer, Avichai Hajbi, described the prosecution’s decision as a mistake.
The indictment also covers armed trespassing and malicious property damage amid a confrontation while settlers used an excavator in the village of Umm al‑Khair.
According to the indictment, Levy fired a gun at residents, hitting Hathaleen, and then fired another shot into the air.
Footage of the incident spread online, and Levy denies firing the fatal shot.
The charge is the first since the 7 October 2023 Hamas‑led attack on southern Israel that ignited the Gaza war and spurred a rise in settler violence.
Since then, UN reports indicate at least 1,110 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli soldiers and settlers, while 41 Israelis have died in the West Bank.
B’Tselem called the indictment the “exception that proves the rule,” saying the policy of impunity fuels escalating violence.
Mattan Berner‑Kadish, who was present at the scene, said the public reaction mixes happiness that charges are brought with a desire for a murder charge and longer sentence.
Hathaleen, a teacher and father of three, was a prominent vocal critic of settler violence and featured in the award‑winning film that follows the legal battle over the community of Masafer Yatta.
Israel’s Supreme Court had ruled in 2022 to allow demolition of homes and expulsion of over 1,000 villagers in the area.
Levy had previously faced UK sanctions in 2024 for physical aggression and property destruction aimed at displacing Palestinian communities.
He denied these allegations in a 2024 BBC interview.
He was also sanctioned by the United States under Biden but had those sanctions lifted under President Trump.
