Um al-Kheir, South Hebron Hills: A settler shot and killed peace activist Awdah al-Hathaleen, and soldiers arrested the victim’s relatives on his orders

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On Monday, 28 July 2025, around 9:00 A.M., Israeli settlers started carrying out earthworks with an excavator on land that Israel declared “state land” adjacent to the Palestinian village of Um al-Kheir in Masafer Yatta, the South Hebron Hills. Among them was Yinon Levi, a settler and excavation contractor who established the Havat Meitarim outpost near the Palestinian community of Khirbet Zanutah and played a key role in driving the residents out. In 2024, several countries imposed sanctions on Levi.

Around 2:00 P.M., the settlers moved to work in an area that Um al-Kheir’s water and electricity infrastructure run through. After several young village residents arrived and demanded the settlers refrain from damaging the infrastructure, a security guard from the Carmel settlement (built adjacent to the village) decided that work near the infrastructure would be postponed until the matter was resolved.

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The young men left and the settlers continued working at another site until 5:00 P.M. When they finished, instead of going back the way he came, the driver drove the excavator toward the Carmel settlement, a route that would take him through a fenced-off olive grove belonging to village residents.

When residents saw the excavator heading toward the grove, several young men blocked its path, shouted for the driver to stop, and tried to prevent him from advancing. The driver ignored them and continued driving. At least one of the young men threw a stone at the front window guard of the excavator. At that point, the driver hit one of the young men, Ahmad al-Hathaleen, 29, on the head with the excavator’s hammer, knocking him unconscious.

Immediately afterward, Yinon Levi arrived waving a handgun, having previously entered another area of Um al-Kheir. Some of the young men confronted him, and a physical altercation ensued with the young men and Levi pushing each other. Levi hit one of the young men with his handgun. At that point, more young men began throwing stones at the excavator.

Levi started shooting his gun at village residents who had gathered at the scene. One of the bullets hit resident Awdah al-Hathaleen, a 31-year-old father of three, peace activist and volunteer with B’Tselem, who was standing at the village community center about 40 meters away from the scene of the altercation, filming it. The bullet hit al-Hathaleen in the chest and he collapsed on the spot.

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Village residents and activists who were there carried al-Hathaleen toward the Carmel settlement gate. On the way, they ran into Yinon Levi again. When al-Hathaleen’s mother, Khadrah al-Hathaleen, shouted at him, “Why did you kill my son?”, Levi slapped her and she fell to the ground. Awdah al-Hathaleen was then taken in an Israeli Magen David Adom ambulance to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. Ahmad al-Hathaleen, who was hit earlier by the excavator’s hammer, was taken to the government hospital in Yatta.

Meanwhile, soldiers arrived and started throwing stun grenades at the residents, forcing them into their homes.

At around 8:00 P.M., Awdah al-Hathaleen’s family was informed that he had been pronounced dead in the hospital, where he arrived without a pulse.

The killing of al-Hathaleen marked the beginning of a campaign of harassment by settlers, the military and police against his grieving family and the village residents.

Restriction of mourning and burial rites

The following day, Tuesday, 29 July 2025, at around 8:30 A.M., soldiers arrived in the village and prohibited residents from setting up a mourning tent. Despite the ban, villagers erected the tent. At around 3:30 P.M., soldiers arrived with a closed military zone order, entered the mourning tent, and removed all non-residents of Um al-Kheir, including journalists, activists and other guests. At that point, settlers arrived with two tractors and began working directly across from the tent.

After forcing the guests away, the soldiers threw stun grenades at them and detained two activists for about two hours.

On Wednesday, 30 July 2025, al-Hathaleen’s body was transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for an autopsy, which revealed that he was killed by the bullet that him in the chest. After the autopsy, the police refused to return al-Hathaleen’s body to his family for burial, conditioning its release on extreme restrictions for the funeral.

The police demanded, among other things, that the funeral be held at night, with no more than 15 people attending, and that the body must be buried in one of the area cities outside the village, in either Yatta or Hebron. Al-Hathaleen’s family refused to accept these terms, and only on Thursday morning, 7 August 2025, did they reach an agreement with the police that the funeral be held in a cemetery far from the settlement, in daylight, and with no limits on attendance. Later that morning, the police returned the body to the family, who began preparing for the funeral.

Contrary to the agreement, starting at around 6:30 A.M., the military declared the area a closed military zone. Soldiers set up roadblocks on the roads leading to the village and prevented entry to anyone who was not a resident. The funeral took place at around 11:00 A.M., attended only by local residents.

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Village residents arrested

Immediately after the incident, on Yinon Levi’s orders, soldiers arrested five young men and two international activists. That night, soldiers returned to the village and arrested seven additional residents. In the week following the killing of al-Hathaleen, military and police forces entered the village almost nightly, arresting six residents. The activists were deported and the residents arrested were gradually released, the last two on 7 August 2025, and all of them after posting bail and under restrictive conditions.

Proceeding against Yinon Levi*

Levi himself was arrested on the evening of the incident, held overnight and released the next day to house arrest on the grounds of insufficient evidence, after an Israeli court accepted his claim of self-defense. Later that week, he was released from house arrest as well, and in the days that followed he was already seen carrying out earthworks near the al-Hathaleen family’s homes in Um al-Kheir. In early August 2026, a year after the documented killing, the State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Levi on charges of reckless homicide, trespassing while carrying a weapon and malicious damage. Levi’s indictment is highly exceptional given the thousands of documented attacks in which none of those involved were prosecuted.

Damage to village infrastructure

On Tuesday, 5 August 2025, while Border Police forces were present, a bulldozer carrying out earthworks for the settlers cut the only pipe supplying water to about 20 families from the village, completely cutting off their water supply for five days.

Background on Um al-Kheir

The village of Um al-Kheir was established in the 1960s, before Israel occupied the West Bank, by Bedouins whom Israel expelled from the Negev and who purchased the land from residents of Yatta. In the 1980s, Israel established the Carmel settlement right next to the village and declared the adjacent land, owned by Yatta residents, as “state land” in order to annex it to the settlement. Since then, settlers have made the lives of Um al-Kheir’s residents miserable in an attempt to drive them off their land. In recent years, settler outposts have also been established near the village, and the harassment has intensified.

B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari collected testimonies from village residents on 30 July 2025

Ikhlas al-Hathaleen, 43, a mother of five and Awdah Hathaleen’s sister-in-law, said in a testimony she gave B’Tselem:

I live in the village of Khirbet Um al-Kheir, east of the city of Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, with my husband Salem, 52, and our children: Yusef, 3, Sarah, 16, ‘Ez, 18, Muhammad, 22, and Saqer, 24.

My husband’s brothers live nearby with their families, including my brother-in-law Awdah, 31, his wife Hanadi, 25, and their children: Watan, 5, Muhammad, 3, and Kinan, 7 months old.

On 28 July 2025, at around 9:00 A.M., the family gathered in our home to prepare for the weddings of my sons Muhammad and Saqer. While I was making lunch, about seven settlers arrived with an excavator and began working on land near us. The excavator worked there until about 2:00 P.M., when it moved toward the water and power lines that supply the village. When we found out, the men of the family went there and began arguing with the excavator driver. At that point, the security guard from the Carmel settlement intervened and said they wouldn’t go near the water and power lines until a solution was found. Everyone then went back home.

At around 5:00 P.M., when the excavator left the area where it had been working, the driver decided to pass through our land, which is fenced off and full of various kinds of trees. As soon as the excavator entered our land, we heard shouting and noise and we all hurried over there. We saw my husband’s cousin, Ahmad al-Hathaleen, 29, trying to stop the excavator from driving through the land. The driver attacked Ahmad with the excavator’s arm and knocked him to the ground. Ahmad lost consciousness, and everyone began shouting at the driver.

By then, dozens of people from our family and community were gathered there, yelling at the driver and demanding he back up. Some young men managed to carry Ahmad away and drove him to the hospital in a private car.

At that point, a settler we know as Yinon Levi came over to us, acting hysterically. He pulled out his gun and started firing in all directions. We heard a woman shout, “Awdah! Awdah!” We ran toward Awdah, who was filming what was going on from about 50 meters away. When we reached him, we saw he was bleeding heavily and writhing in pain. Muhammad al-Hathaleen, a village resident who is a medic, tried to give him first aid and stop the bleeding. My mother-in-law shouted at the settler who shot him, “Why did you kill him?” He slapped her and pushed her hard, until she fell down.

Meanwhile, a lot of soldiers arrived and more armed settlers. The young men carried Awdah about 60 meters, to a spot near the settlement gate, where he was taken away by an Israeli ambulance. The soldiers attacked us, pushed us away from the area and threw stun grenades. They made us all go into my mother-in-law’s yard and threw stun grenades at it, even though dozens of children were gathered there.

My husband’s cousin Hamid, 27, shouted at the soldiers, and six of them attacked him very violently in front of the children. The other women and I gathered our children and took them into a room to protect them. Then one soldier led us, together with a lot of young men from the family, into a fenced corner of the yard and locked the door to the room where the children were. The soldiers brought the settler to identify the young men and arrested everyone he pointed at.

My mother-in-law was locked in another room with other women. When she shouted at them from the window, one of the soldiers blocked it with stones. I heard the children crying and begged the soldiers to let me get the babies out – there were more than 30 children in that room, ranging in age from four months to 13 years. The soldiers refused to let them out or give them water, even though it was very hot and the room was crowded. I also asked to turn off the gas stove, where the maqluba was still cooking, but they refused that too.

After about two hours, the soldiers left, taking with them the young men the settler had identified. I immediately checked on the children and found them crying, sweating, and trembling with fear. We women hugged and calmed our children, then I rushed to turn off the gas. The food was completely burned by then. My mother-in-law and the women with her had to climb out the window, because the soldiers had taken the keys to the room where they had locked them.

At around 8:00 P.M., we received the news that Awdah had died at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. My mother-in-law collapsed, and we took her to a clinic in Yatta, where a doctor treated her and gave her painkillers and sedatives.

The next day, around noon, we opened a mourning tent for Awdah. Dozens of soldiers raided the place, threw stun grenades, dispersed the mourners, and arrested foreign activists. They forbade us from holding the mourning tent and declared the area a closed military zone. The excavator returned to work as if nothing had happened, under the protection of Israeli soldiers.

The next night, at around 3:00 A.M., dozens of soldiers arrived with a list of names and began searching for people. By about 5:00 A.M., they withdrew after arresting Ahmad Shu’eib al-Hathaleen, 27; Khalil Shu’eib al-Hathaleen, 42; Majd Shu’eib al-Hathaleen, 40; Tareq Salem al-Hathalin, 28; ‘Id Suleiman al-Hathaleen, 40; his brother ‘Adel, 44; ‘Issam, 33; and ‘Ali Yasser al-Hathaleen, 25. All the men arrested are still in detention.

Awdah’s family still hasn’t received his body because of conditions set by the occupation authorities. They’re demanding that we bury him outside Um al-Kheir and that no mourning tent be opened.

‘Alaa al-Hathaleen, 35, said in a testimony he gave B’Tselem:

I live in the village of Um al-Kheir, east of the city of Yatta, and work in agriculture.

On Monday, 28 July 2025, at around 9:00 A.M., I was in the village when several settlers came from the Carmel settlement with a Hyundai excavator to a plot of land near the home of Salem al-Hathaleen. The settlers had seized this plot several months earlier, claiming it was “state land.” They fenced it in, planted trees, and installed security cameras. It’s important to note that the water and power lines supplying the village run through the middle of this plot. The excavator began working, accompanied by two settlers. One of them, Yinon Levi, is known to us as one of the settler leaders placed under sanctions by the US government during Biden’s term.

At 2:00 P.M., I went there with several relatives to make sure the water and power lines would not be damaged. We argued with the settlers until the settlement security guard intervened and said the work would stop until a solution was found. We went back home, and the excavator stayed there until about 5:00 P.M.

Then, instead of returning via the main road, the excavator moved toward our family’s land, which is fenced in and covered with various crops. I heard shouting and ran over. I found my brother, Ahmad al-Hathaleen, 29, trying to stop the excavator from entering our land. He yelled at the driver to turn back and tried to block him, but the driver kept going, damaging the fence and crops. While doing so, the driver hit Ahmad with the excavator’s hammer, and he collapsed and lost consciousness. People from the village gathered there and shouted, while the excavator continued toward the settlement.

Meanwhile, the settler Yinon Levi arrived. The residents shouted at him, and he drew his gun. I tried to film him pulling out the gun, but he attacked me and grabbed my phone.

Suddenly, while we were trying to move people away and the excavator was already on the road leading to the settlement, Yinon Levi fired one shot, and then another shot.

I heard shouts: “Awdah! Awdah!” I turned around and found my cousin Awdah lying in the public garden of Um al-Kheir’s community center. He was bleeding heavily from the chest and mouth. It turned out he had been shot while filming the events, from about 40 meters away, behind a metal fence we had put up around the garden.

Several foreign activists tried to give him first aid for about a minute and a half, and then we carried him about 100 meters to the entrance to the Carmel settlement. The settler Yinon Levi prevented us from entering the settlement, and we stood there shouting for an ambulance.

During that time, Awdah’s mother shouted at Yinon Levi and he slapped her, knocking her to the ground.

About four minutes later, an Israeli ambulance arrived at the entrance and took Awdah away.

Meanwhile, soldiers arrived and began attacking residents. They fired in the air and threw tear gas and stun grenades, and we were forced to retreat. Then they concentrated us inside a tent in the village.

Soon afterwards, another force arrived with Yinon Levi, who pointed out five young men to the soldiers. They arrested them and took them out of the village. The soldiers then left and went into the settlement.

At around 8:00 P.M., we were informed by the Palestinian authorities that the Israeli government had announced Awdah had died at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. My brother Ahmad was treated at the public hospital in Yatta.

The next day, 29 July 2025, at 3:00 A.M., large military and police forces came to the village with Yinon Levi, who reenacted his shooting.

That morning, a mourning tent was set up in the center of Um al-Kheir. At 11:00 A.M., large military forces arrived, declared the village a closed military zone, and prevented entry to anyone who did not live there. They expelled journalists and visitors from the village and threw stun grenades at them.

In the evening, the occupation authorities announced that ‘Awdah’s body would only be released if he was not buried in the village and no mourning tent was set up there. The family refused those conditions.

The next day, 30 July 2025, at sunrise, large forces again raided the village and arrested about eight more young men.

The force also raided the village council office and confiscated three laptops, two of them belonging to the council, and a bag containing documents and maps of village land.

‘Awdah was my cousin and the husband of my sister Hanadi. He had three children, worked as a schoolteacher, and was one of the activists in the struggle against the settlements.

Khadrah al-Hathaleen, 74, a widow and mother of six, ‘Awdah's mother, said in a testimony she gave B’Tselem:

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I live in the village of Um al-Kheir, east of Yatta, with my children and grandchildren.

On 28 July 2025, at around 9:00 A.M., while the family was gathered in our yard preparing for the weddings of my grandsons Muhammad and Saqer, the sons of Salem, scheduled for 22 August 2025, several settlers from the Carmel settlement arrived at a nearby plot. Among them was Yinon Levi, whom we know for the provocations he causes here. They brought an excavator and began working on land they had seized several months earlier claiming it was “state land.” They fenced off the land, planted trees, and installed surveillance cameras.

At 2:00 P.M., we went to the land after we heard they were approaching the water and power lines that supply our village and run through that plot. We were afraid they would damage them and cut off our supply. An argument broke out between the residents and the settlers. Then the settlement security guard intervened and said the work would be stopped temporarily until a solution was found. We went home, and the excavator continued working until 5:00 P.M.

When the excavator left, instead of returning via the main road it began driving through our private land, which is fenced and contains olive trees and various crops. We heard shouting and ran there. We saw my brother-in-law’s son, Ahmad al-Hathaleen, 29, trying to stop the excavator from crossing the land and damaging the fence and saplings, shouting at the driver to turn back. Despite that, the excavator driver kept going, destroyed the fence and saplings, and hit Ahmad with the excavator arm. He fell and lost consciousness. Relatives and residents gathered, shouting at the excavator driver and the settlers accompanying him.

The excavator continued toward the road leading to the settlement, and when it was about 70 meters from the settlement, Yinon Levi arrived. The residents shouted at him to leave, but he drew his gun and began firing randomly and hysterically. We heard women shouting, “Awdah! Awdah!” My son Awdah was in the garden of the community center in the village, about 50 meters from the scene, filming what was happening on his mobile phone. I had a bad feeling and ran there. I found Awdah lying in a pool of blood, writhing in pain.

Muhammad al-Hathaleen, a trained nurse and relative, tried to give him first aid together with a foreign activist who is a paramedic. The young men carried Awdah about 60 meters on foot to the settlement gate.

The soldiers attacked us, pushing and hitting us. When I shouted at the settler who shot Awdah, “Why did you kill my son?” he punched me twice and knocked me to the ground. My head got hit by rocks and my left arm was injured.

An Israeli ambulance arrived at the settlement gate, and they put Awdah inside but did not allow Muhammad to ride with him.

After the ambulance left, the soldiers violently pushed me and the other residents into our yard, where there were about 30 children ranging in age from a few months to 13 years old. The soldiers threw two stun grenades into the yard. My brother-in-law’s son, Hamid, shouted at the soldiers, and then six soldiers violently assaulted him in front of the children, who screamed and cried.

We gathered the children and took them into a room to protect them. There were 30 children in the room, and then one soldier locked them inside. The soldiers put me and several other women in another room and locked us in. I stood by the window and shouted at the soldiers, and then one of them sealed it with bricks.

I felt weak. I felt I was about to collapse and was worried about my son Awdah. I asked his wife to call to find out what happened to him, but she received no answer.

There was chaos, with the locked children screaming and crying, and women and men assaulted by the soldiers in the yard and screaming. After we were locked in the room for about two hours, the soldiers left the house, taking the keys with them. We managed to get out through a back window. We broke open the door of the room the children were in. They were crying and trembling with fear, drenched in sweat.

The soldiers also arrested my son ‘Aziz, 39, who works for the local council, Muhammad Salem, 22, and our cousin Hazem, who was later released on bail of 1,000 shekels.

At around 8:00 P.M., we were informed that Awdah had died of his wounds at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. The settlers and the excavator left, but the soldiers remained in the village. I broke down. I felt very weak, and my sons took me to the medical center in Yatta, where I was given medication and painkillers for the bruises and pain from the fall. The young men also took Ahmad to the public hospital in Yatta, where he was treated.

The next morning, the soldiers forbade the family from opening a mourning tent, but we did it anyway.

At around 12:00 P.M., dozens of soldiers raided the mourning tent, removed visitors and journalists, threw stun grenades, and arrested foreign activists. They declared the area a closed military zone. They also stormed Awdah’s room, searched it, and left it in disarray. The excavator then went back to work on the land under military protection.

The next day, at around 3:00 A.M., large military and police forces returned to the village and arrested about eight more residents. All the men arrested are still in detention.

The occupation forces informed us that Awdah’s body would not be released unless we agreed not to hold a mourning tent and not to bury him here in the village. We refused. The body was not handed over and was sent for a pathological examination.

My heart is broken over the death of my son Awdah. The pain is very deep.

* Updated in August 2026.