A well-known Palestinian activist and educator Odeh Muhammad Hadalin was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses.
Hadalin, a resident of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta region south of Hebron, was prominently involved in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which chronicled the struggle of local Palestinian communities facing settler violence and military displacement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education confirmed the death late on Monday, stating that Hadalin was killed “by settlers during their attack on the village of Umm al-Khair.”
Witnesses reported that Hadalin was standing outside the village’s community centre when he was shot in the chest. He later succumbed to his injuries.
Basel Adra, a co-director of No Other Land and close friend of the deceased, posted an emotional tribute on social media, saying, “My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening... This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.”
Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist and fellow co-director of the film, also confirmed Hadalin’s killing and shared footage allegedly showing the attacker. Abraham claimed that residents had identified the gunman as Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler previously sanctioned by both the European Union and the United States.
“This is him in the video firing like crazy,” Abraham wrote, referring to Levi. The footage appeared to show a settler discharging his weapon near Palestinian homes.
Israeli police said they were investigating an “incident near Carmel [al-Karmil]”, an illegal settlement adjacent to Umm al-Khair. In a statement, they confirmed the death of a Palestinian man but added that “his exact involvement in the incident is being verified.”
Authorities also reported the arrest of four Palestinians and two foreign nationals who were present at the scene.
According to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, a second Palestinian was injured after being physically assaulted by settlers. He was taken to hospital for treatment.
Masafer Yatta, where Hadalin lived, is a cluster of Palestinian hamlets located in an area Israel declared a military “firing zone” in the 1980s. Residents have long resisted eviction attempts and demolition orders, arguing their right to remain on ancestral lands.
The documentary No Other Land, which brought international attention to the plight of Masafer Yatta, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in March.
Hadalin played a key role in facilitating the film’s production and sharing the community’s story with the world.
His death coincided with the release of a new report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which accused Israel of committing acts of genocide against Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank amid ongoing military operations and settler violence.
The killing has sparked renewed outrage among Palestinian activists and international observers, who view the incident as part of a broader pattern of impunity for settler attacks in the occupied territories.
