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Rare indictment in West Bank
Israeli prosecutors charged settler Yinon Levi with reckless manslaughter over the death of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, in what Israeli rights group B’Tselem described as the first indictment of its kind since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
“Prosecutors charged an Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, on Thursday”
The indictment was filed in a district court in southern Israel, and prosecutors accused Levi of reckless manslaughter in the death of Hathaleen in July 2025, along with armed trespassing and willful property damage.
NBC News said the charges were filed in the city of Beersheba District Court, and it described the case as the first time since Oct. 7, 2023 that an Israeli was indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank.
B’Tselem said the indictment was the exception that proves the rule, while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that it came amid a rise in settler violence in the occupied territory.
The killing occurred in the village of Umm al-Khair in the southern West Bank, where Hathaleen was shot during a confrontation involving settlers and an excavator operator, according to the indictment described by multiple outlets.
Levi denies, family hopes
Levi wrote back to prosecutors saying he would fight for his innocence in court, and he accused prosecutors of providing “de facto support for terrorism.”
Hathaleen’s lawyer Eitan Peleg told AFP that the indictment was “a very important decision” and said he hoped it would be a precedent in future cases of Israelis committing crimes against Palestinians.
NBC News quoted Peleg saying, “I hope that it will be a turning point for more severe enforcement of the law in the West Bank against Jewish terrorists,” while Tariq Hathaleen said the family “still believes this is something really, really big.”
Levi’s lawyer Avichay Hajbi told The Associated Press that the prosecution had made a “mistaken decision,” and said the defense would respond to the accusations in court.
The indictment described video evidence in which Levi fired toward an area where people, including children, had gathered, and it said the first shot struck Hathaleen, who was standing about 20 meters away and was filming from the courtyard.
What’s at stake next
The indictment carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison for reckless manslaughter under Israeli law, and it also includes charges of armed trespassing and malicious property damage.
“reckless manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison”
B’Tselem said the indictment was the first time since Oct. 7, 2023 that an Israeli was indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank, and it said Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the territory.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians, including at least 240 children, during the period since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, citing United Nations data.
NBC News said Levi is not currently under arrest and that prosecutors confirmed the indictment had been filed in Beersheba, with a meeting scheduled in the coming weeks where prosecutors will read Levi the charges.
The case also drew international attention because Hathaleen’s work was featured in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” and the indictment was framed by outlets as a rare instance of Israel prosecuting a settler for violence against Palestinians.
