Israeli settler indicted for reckless homicide in killing of Awdah Hathaleen

Yinon Eliya Levi, 33, was indicted on Thursday for reckless homicide in the killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen during a confrontation in the South Hebron Hills village of Umm al-Khair last July. The Southern District Attorney's Office filed the indictment with the Beersheba District Court, alleging that Levi fired toward an area where villagers, including children, were gathered after ordering an excavator to clear an unauthorized route across privately owned Palestinian land. He was also charged with trespassing while armed and malicious damage to property. Hathaleen was an English teacher and an activist against settler violence who became a prominent voice for his community of Umm al-Khair. He also contributed footage to the Academy Award-winning documentary No Other Land, which was filmed between 2019 and 2023 and portrayed Palestinian life in the nearby Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills. According to the indictment, Levi was working as an earthworks contractor on the development of a new neighborhood for the adjacent settlement of Carmel. The worksite was located outside the settlement fence and bordered homes in Umm al-Khair. At the end of the workday, he allegedly instructed a 17-year-old excavator driver to clear a new route that was not included in the work plan and crossed privately owned land. Residents of Umm al-Khair gathered at the site and attempted to stop the excavator while filming the work, prosecutors said. The driver allegedly struck one of those present with the excavator's breaker, injuring his head and shoulder and causing him to collapse. The excavator continued through the land, damaging crops and a fence before Levi allegedly signaled to the driver to knock down a second fence. A confrontation then developed, during which some of those present threw stones at the excavator, breaking a side mirror and the driver's window. Levi allegedly assaulted one person and struck a cellphone being used to document the incident. Prosecutors said Levi then readied his pistol, moved away from the group and fired one shot parallel to the ground toward village buildings and an area where adults and children were present. Hathaleen, who was filming from the courtyard of the village community center about 20 meters away, was struck and collapsed. He was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he arrived without signs of life. The indictment said the bullet passed through his lungs and a major blood vessel in his chest. Levi allegedly readied the gun again, warned those present not to throw stones, and fired a second shot into the air over their heads.