An Ongoing Crime: Settler Kills Palestinian Teacher South of Hebron

Awda al-Hathalin is one of twenty-nine Palestinians killed in settler attacks in the West Bank since the events of October 7, 2023.

On July 28, 2025, young teacher Awda Muhammad Khalil al-Hathalin stood on the outskirts of his village of Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, as he had done dozens of times. He was not carrying a weapon, only his voice and his thin body, and a spirit that refused to submit to the weight of bulldozers and heavily armed settlers.

Awda, 31, worked as an English teacher, was a prominent human rights and anti-settlement activist, and served as a consultant on the Oscar-winning film “No Other Land.”

He is married and has three children: Watan, Muhammad, and Kinan, the eldest of whom is under six years old.

According to eyewitness accounts, the attack occurred as settlers, accompanied by a bulldozer, attempted to invade the village’s lands to expand the Karmiel settlement. Awda attempted to confront the bulldozer, and an argument ensued. The settler, Yinon Levy, then shot him directly in the head.

Alaa al-Hathalin, the victim’s cousin, explained that his body is still being held by the Israeli occupation authorities.

The settler is known for his extensive history of attacks and has previously been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States. However, this has not prevented him from continuing his violence, given the full cover of the occupation forces.

Levi regularly leads a group of settlers who attack Palestinians, burn their fields, destroy their property, and threaten to attack them again if they do not leave their homes.

After the execution of the teacher, Awda, the Israeli army did not arrest the settler who fired the gun, but rather arrested a number of young men from Khirbet Umm al-Khair after providing protection to the settlers.