New footage contradicts ‘self-defense’ claim of illegal Israeli settler in killing of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker

A newly released video contradicts the “self-defense” claim made by an illegal Israeli settler in the killing of Palestinian filmmaker ⁠Odeh Hathalin, whose work on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land brought global attention to Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Rights group B’Tselem on Sunday published the footage, filmed by Hathalin himself, showing illegal Israeli settler Yinon Levi aiming his gun and firing before the image cuts abruptly as the 31-year-old collapses to the ground. The incident occurred on July 28 during a protest against Israeli bulldozing of land in his home village of Umm al-Khair, part of the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron.

Levi was briefly placed under house arrest before being freed on Aug. 1, after Israeli authorities said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute and accepted his claim of acting in self-defense.

According to B’Tselem, the illegal Israeli settler drove into the village with a digger and opened fire when residents tried to force him out. Both the EU and US have previously sanctioned him for violent attacks and forced displacement against Palestinians.

Israeli authorities withheld Hathalin’s body until Thursday, releasing it to his family after a hunger strike by 70 women in the village.

Israeli forces also prevented the setting up of a mourning tent, dispersing mourners, journalists, and supporters by declaring the area a closed military zone.

Hathalin, a schoolteacher and father of three, was part of the production team for No Other Land, which won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film documents Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes and expansion of settlements in Masafer Yatta, which the UN and human rights groups say violates international law.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 others injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Health Ministry.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.