Israeli prosecutors have charged settler Yinon Levi with reckless manslaughter over the July 2025 killing of Palestinian activist and teacher Awdah Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank. The indictment, filed in a district court on Thursday, also includes charges of armed trespassing and malicious property damage stemming from an incident in which settlers brought excavators into the village of Umm al-Khair.
The case marks the first indictment of an Israeli civilian over the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank since October 2023, according to rights group B'Tselem. Yesh Din noted that an Israeli civilian was last indicted over such a killing in 2019. Levi, who runs an outpost farm near Hebron, faces up to 12 years in prison. An investigation by Al-Haq matched the fatal bullet to Levi's handgun.
Levi was previously sanctioned by the US and EU in April 2024 for violence against Palestinians. B'Tselem says at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and soldiers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began.