Jerusalem Post/Israel NewsYinon Eliya Levi, 33, killed Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen during a confrontation in the South Hebron Hills village of Umm al-Khair last July.Follow us on GoogleAwdah Hathaleen.(photo credit: Masafir Yatta Municipal Council, Wikimedia Commons)BySARAH BEN-NUNAUGUST 6, 2026 12:41Updated: AUGUST 6, 2026 13:01Yinon Eliya Levi, 33, was indicted on Thursday for reckless homicide in the killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen during a confrontation in the South Hebron Hills village of Umm al-Khair last July.The Southern District Attorney’s Office filed the indictment with the Beersheba District Court, alleging that Levi fired toward an area where villagers, including children, were gathered after ordering an excavator to clear an unauthorized route across private land.According to the indictment, Levi was working as an earthworks contractor on the development of a new neighborhood in a settlement in the area. At the end of the workday, he allegedly instructed a 17-year-old excavator driver to clear a new route that was not included in the work plan and crossed privately owned land.Residents of a nearby village gathered at the site and attempted to stop the excavator while filming the work, prosecutors said. The driver allegedly struck one of those present with the excavator’s breaker, injuring his head and shoulder, before Levi signaled for him to continue and break through another fence.A confrontation then developed, during which some of those present threw stones at the excavator. Levi allegedly assaulted one person and struck a cellphone being used to document the incident.Israeli soldiers at the scene a Palestinian was shot for throwing stones, in the West Bank city of Hebron, July 28, 2025 (credit: WISAM HASHLAMOUN/FLASH90)Levi assaulted, shot people in the areaProsecutors said Levi then cocked his pistol, moved away from the group and fired horizontally toward village buildings and an area where adults and children were present. Hathaleen, who was filming from the courtyard of the village community center about 20 meters away, was struck and killed.Levi allegedly cocked the gun again, warned those present not to throw stones, and fired a second shot into the air.Follow us on Google