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Israeli soldiers raided a tent set up for mourning Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen on Tuesday as his killer, an Israeli settler infamous for terrorizing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, was released by an Israeli court.
Haaretz reports that Hathaleen’s killer, Yinon Levi, was released to house arrest while he’s investigated for manslaughter, with a judge deciding that he isn’t dangerous enough to remain in detention.
This decision comes less than a day after Levi shot and killed Hathaleen in broad daylight, with the attack caught on camera. Witnesses said that Levi later said of the shooting, “I’m glad I did it,” per Al Jazeera.
Levi has previously faced sanctions by the European Union and the U.S. for his extreme violence against Palestinian and Bedouin communities. (President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on him and other Israeli settlers on his first day in office.) Levi lives in an illegal Israeli settlement close to where settlers conducted the attack.
Locals and activists present in the area say that Levi and other Israeli settlers stormed the village of Umm al-Khair, the village in Masafer Yatta where Hathaleen is from, on Monday night. They arrived with a bulldozer to destroy the scant remains of the village, and attacked Palestinians trying to defend their home. Video showed Levi waving a gun around as he confronted a group. He shot Hathaleen in the lungs, and Hathaleen died shortly after due to his injuries.
Meanwhile, Israeli police arrested four Palestinians and two foreign solidarity activists in connection with the incident, accusing the Palestinians of throwing rocks. The Palestinians are expected to be brought before a military court on Thursday and are still imprisoned, even as Levi, the only settler arrested in the incident, was released. The two international activists are reportedly being processed for deportation.
Hathaleen was a well-known activist and beloved community member. He was a loving father to three young children, and loved to play soccer. He taught English for grades one through nine, and his relatives told Al Jazeera that he taught his students English so that they could reach wider audiences and tell their stories, in hopes of ending Israel’s occupation, which has ravaged his village.
“There was [nobody] who contributed as much to the community in Umm al-Kheir as Awdah,” said Hathaleen’s cousin, Alaa Hathaleen, per Al Jazeera.
Hathaleen helped to film No Other Land, a documentary film about Israel’s occupation of Masafer Yatta that won an Oscar earlier this year.
“This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time,” said No Other Land co-director and Palestinian activist, Basel Adra.
Even in death, Israeli forces have not allowed Hathaleen to rest. Israeli authorities are reportedly withholding his body from his family, a regular practice by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military reportedly declared a mourning tent set up by the community for Hathaleen as a closed military zone. Soldiers raided the tent, forcing mourners out and also removing journalists and activists.
Soldiers pushed mourners and journalists away from the tent, throwing stun grenades at them, reporters said.
The stark contrast between Israeli authorities’ treatment of Levi and Hathaleen’s community after the killing is a show of Israeli apartheid’s blatant double standards, with Israeli settlers or soldiers often attacking mourners after killing a Palestinian and walking free.
“After killing [Awdah], Yinon pointed at his family and instructed soldiers to arrest 4 of them. They are still jailed while he was just released for house arrest,” saidNo Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham. “A system which punishes the victims (who are under military law) and rewards the shooter (who is under civilian law).”
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