An Israeli settler has been charged with reckless manslaughter over his alleged involvement in the killing of a Palestinian activist in the West Bank last year.
Yinon Levy is accused of shooting Odeh Hathaleen in what is believed to be the first indictment of its kind since the October 7 massacres.
Israel's Southern District Prosecutor's Office also charged Levy with armed trespassing and malicious property damage.
The charges relate to a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians in the village of Um al-Kher after the Israelis allegedly used an excavator to damage locals’ property.
Footage of the incident, shared widely on social media, showed villagers and activists confronting the settlers.
At one point, one of the settlers, believed to be Levy, appeared to discharge his firearm in the direction of the Palestinians and it was later reported that Hathaleen had suffered a fatal gunshot wound.
Levy has previously denied firing the fatal shot, but prosecutors allege it was a round from his weapon that killed Hathaleen.
The Palestinian activist was one of several who assisted in the filming of No Other Land, a documentary shot between 2019 and 2023 detailing the destruction of properties in Masafer Yatta and the displacement of local residents, which went on to claim the title of Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2025 Oscars.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the indictment against Levy is the first time a settler has been charged with killing a Palestinian in nearly three years.
Per the Associated Press, Levy intends to protest his innocence, arguing that the shooting was an act of self-defence and that prosecutors are providing “de facto support for terrorism” by charging him.
His lawyer, Avichai Hajbi, called the indictment a “mistaken decision”.
Levy was sanctioned by the UK in 2024, with the Foreign Office saying he had “used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities”, allegations which he has denied.
He was also sanctioned by the US under the Biden administration, but the measures were repealed by President Trump following his return to office.
The latest IDF figures show that settler violence in the West Bank increased by almost a third in 2025.
The security services recorded 867 incidents of “nationalistic crime” last year, up 27 per cent from 682 in 2024.
Likewise, the number of these crimes categorised as “serious” rose by 50 per cent from 83 to 128.
Per the report, Shin Bet believes that the majority of attacks are carried out by a group of around 300 extremist settlers, 70 of whom are thought to make up a “hardcore” bloc responsible for more severe violence.
More than half of those 70 are already under IDF-authorised restraining orders, either preventing them from entering the West Bank or confining them to house arrest if they already live there.
On the other side of the ledger, 2025 also saw the continuation of a steady decline in Palestinian terrorism across the West Bank, partly as terror groups increasingly focus their resources on Gaza.
A total of 57 Palestinian terror attacks were recorded last year, resulting in 20 deaths. This was a significant decline from 258 attacks resulting in 35 deaths in 2024 and 847 attacks leading to 41 deaths the year before, though it did represent an increase in the rate of fatalities per attack.
The IDF also credited “sustained offensive activity” within the West Bank, aimed at destroying terror infrastructure, for the drop-off.
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