UK-sanctioned Israeli settler charged over killing of Palestinian Oscar film activist

An Israeli settler sanctioned by Britain has been charged over the fatal shooting of a Palestinian activist who worked on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

Yinon Levy has been charged with reckless manslaughter over the death of Odeh Hathaleen, who was shot in the West Bank village of Umm al-Khair in July 2025.

The indictment also accuses Levy of armed trespassing and malicious damage to property, according to Israel’s Southern District Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutors allege the shooting happened during a confrontation after settlers brought an excavator into the Palestinian village.

The indictment says Levy cocked his gun and fired towards residents, with the shot hitting Hathaleen. Prosecutors allege he then fired another shot into the air.

Levy has previously denied firing the bullet that killed Hathaleen and is expected to contest the charges.

In a letter reported by the Associated Press, he said prosecutors should not punish acts of self-defence and accused them of giving “de facto support for terrorism”.

His lawyer, Avichai Hajbi, told the news agency that prosecutors had made a “mistaken decision”.

Levy was sanctioned by the UK government in 2024 over alleged violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

At the time, the government said he had “used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities”.

Levy denied those allegations when approached by the BBC in 2024.

The Biden administration also imposed US sanctions on Levy, but they were later lifted under President Donald Trump.

Hathaleen, a teacher and father-of-three, campaigned against settler violence and contributed to No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025.

The film follows Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta and their battle against the demolition of homes and displacement of communities in the area.

Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem said Levy’s indictment was the first of an Israeli over the killing of a Palestinian in the West Bank for almost three years.

It described the prosecution as the “exception that proves the rule”.

A lawyer representing Hathaleen’s family said they hoped the case would mark a “turning point” in accountability for settler violence.

Israeli-American activist Mattan Berner-Kadish, who witnessed the incident, told the BBC there were “mixed feelings” about the decision, saying some believed Levy should face a murder charge.

Levy has not been convicted of any offence, and the allegations against him will now be tested in court.