GazaHerald- Palestinian activist and educator Odeh Muhammad Hadalin was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on Monday evening in the village of Umm al-Khair, located in the southern hills of Masafer Yatta, near Hebron, according to local officials and journalists.
Hadalin, a well-known figure in the Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement, had long worked to defend his community from settler violence and Israeli military displacement. He was also a key figure behind the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which chronicled the systematic targeting of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta by settlers and Israeli forces.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education, Hadalin was “shot dead by settlers … during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair.” The account was echoed by the film’s co-directors, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra, who confirmed Hadalin’s killing and described it as a targeted act of violence.
“My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening,” Adra wrote in a post. “He was standing in front of the community center in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life.”
“This is how Israel erases us, one life at a time.”
Yuval Abraham described Hadalin as “a remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta” and posted a video of the incident online. In the footage, settlers appear to be shooting indiscriminately toward Palestinian homes. Abraham stated that villagers had identified the gunman as Yinon Levi, a settler who has been sanctioned by both the European Union and the United States for violent attacks against Palestinians.
“This is him in the video firing like crazy,” Abraham said.
Growing Settler Violence
Israeli police said they were investigating what they described as “an incident near Carmel [al-Karmil],” an illegal settlement adjacent to Umm al-Khair. A police statement said that one Israeli settler had been detained and later arrested, while four Palestinians and two foreign nationals who were present were also arrested.
The police added that “a Palestinian’s death was confirmed; his exact involvement in the incident is being verified,” language that has drawn criticism for implying victim complicity without evidence. A second Palestinian was also injured, reportedly after being beaten by a settler, and was transported to a hospital.
Masafer Yatta, where Hadalin lived and worked, is a cluster of Palestinian hamlets located in a part of the West Bank declared by Israel as a military “firing zone.”
For years, residents have faced eviction, home demolitions, and daily harassment in what rights groups describe as a campaign of forced displacement. The struggles of these communities formed the heart of No Other Land, which won Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Hadalin’s death comes amid an alarming rise in settler violence across the occupied West Bank. On the same day, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem published a report accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and warning of an “unprecedented spike” in daily settler attacks in the West Bank.
“These attacks include arson, theft, home invasions and takeovers, armed threats, beatings, and more,” the report stated, stressing that such assaults occur “with the support of the Israeli government and law enforcement agencies.”
According to B’Tselem, settlers are increasingly armed and often dressed in full military gear, making it difficult to distinguish them from Israeli soldiers.
Also on Monday night, 27-year-old Mohammad Samer Suleiman al-Jamal died after being shot by Israeli forces at a checkpoint near the northern entrance to Hebron, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed. Israeli forces left him to bleed to death and blocked ambulance crews from reaching the scene.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. In the same period, over 30 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in the West Bank.
