Video shows Palestinian activist being shot by Israeli settler
villagers for a month.The Israeli police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether they’d seen the videos.B’Tselem said Levi was with a crew that brought an excavator from a nearby settlement into Umm al-Khair. Residents, fearing it would cut the village’s main water line, gathered on a dirt road to try and block its path, and at least one individual threw a stone at the vehicle’s front window.Levi then confronted the crowd while waving a handgun.The new video shows Levi arguing heatedly with three men before firing the gun in the direction of the person filming. Hathaleen was standing at the village community center about 40 meters (130 feet) from the confrontation, said B’Tselem. The bullet hit him in the chest and he collapsed on the spot, it said.Eitan Peleg, a lawyer for Hathaleen’s family, said they told him Hathaleen had shot the footage on his phone. He said the police asked him for the video, which they hadn’t seen. Peleg said he’s urging the district court to investigate Levi for more serious crimes.Levi helped establish a settler outpost near Umm al-Khair that anti-settlement activists say is a bastion for violent settlers who have displaced hundreds since the start of the war. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to settler violence.In a 2024 interview, Levi told the AP that he was protecting his own land and denied using violence.After Hathaleen’s killing, Israel’s army initially refused to return his body for burial unless conditions were met for the funeral, including limiting the number of people and the location. After an agreement was made with the police about a week later, Hathaleen’s body was returned and buried.Hathaleen had written and spoken out against settler violence and had helped produce the Oscar-winning film. Supporters have erected murals in his honor in Rome, held vigils in New York and have held signs bearing his name at anti-war protests in Tel Aviv.