Israel, in an unusually rare indictment, accuses a Jewish settler of killing a Palestinian activist

🔸Israeli prosecutors on Thursday, 15 Mordad, charged a Jewish settler with the murder of a Palestinian community leader in the West Bank last year.

🔸It is the first indictment of this kind in more than seven years, at a time when settler violence in this occupied area has increased.

🔸According to an indictment prepared by Israel’s Office of the Attorney General, Yinon Levi has been charged with involuntary manslaughter due to reckless endangerment in the death of Odeh Hethaleyn, a prominent activist who appeared in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary “There Is No Land Elsewhere.”

🔸The charges against Levi also include illegal armed entry and intentional destruction of property during an incident in July 2025, when settlers entered the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir with a large mechanical excavator, which led to clashes with residents.

🔸Hethaleyn had recorded the moment when he was shot. A video released by the Israeli human rights group “B’Tselem” shows that Levi took out a weapon and shoots at Hethaleyn. Then his groaning can be heard when he falls to the ground.

🔸Levi, who Britain and the European Union have previously sanctioned for violence against Palestinians, had earlier denied shooting at this Palestinian activist.

🔸Reuters says it was unable to reach the accused’s lawyer to comment in this regard.

🔸Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.