Yuval Abraham, who co-directed No Other Land, recently revealed that an Israeli settler killed Awdah Hathaleen, a journalist from Palestine, who aided in making the aforesaid Academy Award-winning documentary. Hathaleen hails from a Palestinian community named Masafer Yatta, whose fight against violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers is chronicled in the documentary.
According to Al Jazeera, the suspect, Yinon Levi, has been serving house arrest over the last few days after a Jerusalem-based Magistrate Court refused to keep Levi in custody. Israeli publication Haaretz reports that manslaughter and illegal firearm use charges were made against Levi.
Abraham, meanwhile, revealed that law enforcement arrested Hathaleen’s family as the suspect has been placed under house arrest. “After killing Odeh, Yinon pointed at his family and instructed soldiers to arrest 4 of them,” reads an X post from the filmmaker. He added, “They are still jailed while he was just released for house arrest. A system which punishes the victims (who are under military law) and rewards the shooter (who is under civilian law)."
For Abraham, Hathaleen is "a remarkable activist."
Basel Adra, the documentary's other co-director, also weighed in on the matter through social media the other day. Adra wrote, "My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening. He was standing in front of the community centre in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life." The filmmaker went on to add, "This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time."