🎥💔 Odeh Muhammad Hadalin, a beloved Palestinian activist and key figure in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank — a killing now fueling international outrage.
The tragic incident took place in Umm al-Khair, a small village in the Masafer Yatta region south of Hebron. Eyewitnesses say Hadalin was standing outside the village community centre when he was shot in the chest. He later died from his injuries.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, Hadalin was targeted “by settlers during their attack on the village.” His death is the latest in a wave of settler violence that has escalated dramatically in recent months.
💔 “My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered,” wrote fellow activist and No Other Land co-director Basel Adra in a heart-wrenching tribute.
“This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.”
Israeli journalist and co-director Yuval Abraham confirmed the killing and shared footage allegedly showing the shooter — identified by villagers as Yinon Levi, a known Israeli settler previously sanctioned by the EU and the U.S.
📹 “This is him in the video firing like crazy,” Abraham wrote, referring to the footage of a settler opening fire near Palestinian homes.
While Israeli police have launched an investigation, their vague statement merely confirmed the death of a “Palestinian man,” adding that his “involvement in the incident” was still under review. Authorities also arrested four Palestinians and two foreign nationals present at the scene.
Another Palestinian was hospitalized after being physically assaulted by settlers, according to the official news agency Wafa.
🏠 Masafer Yatta, where Hadalin lived, is a historic Palestinian area long targeted by Israeli military expansion and settler encroachment. Declared a firing zone by Israel in the 1980s, it has been at the centre of mass evictions, home demolitions, and violent confrontations.
🎬 No Other Land, the award-winning documentary in which Hadalin played a central role, spotlighted the resilience of the Masafer Yatta community and the brutality of settler violence. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary earlier this year and brought global awareness to the region’s plight.
Hadalin’s death comes on the same day that B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights group, released a damning report accusing Israel of genocidal actions in both Gaza and the West Bank.
🕊️ The killing has sparked fresh anger among Palestinian communities and international observers, many of whom view it as part of a wider pattern of unchecked settler violence and systemic impunity.