OMG! An Israeli colonist charged in the West Bank!

[Opinion. Wait. Did I miss something? Has the Earth suddenly stopped turning on it's axis? Israel actually charged a West Bank colonist?!? WTF!!!

“Manslaughter” is the name for an unpremeditated murder. If Levi was not planning on killing a Palestinian, why was he armed?

Yinon Levi is not in prison or under arrest pending trial. He was previously released from detention during earlier stages of the investigation.

Levi and his legal counsel maintain his innocence, claiming he acted in self-defense.

There will be int’l outrage but certainly not among Israelis, their colonists and their govt. My guess is a slap on the wrist and a return to colonists stealing the livelihoods of Palestinians, likely Levi with them as a hero.]

Israel charges West Bank settler over death of renowned Palestinian activist

Yinon Levi faces trial for reckless manslaughter related to the 2025 killing of Awdah Hathaleen

Reuters in Jerusalem

The Guardian: 6 Aug 2026

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/israel-charges-west-bank-settler-killing-palestinian-activist-awdah-hathaleen

Israeli prosecutors have charged a Jewish settler over the killing of a Palestinian community leader in the occupied West Bank last year – the ⁠first such indictment in nearly three years.

In papers filed by the state attorney’s office, Yinon Levi is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of Awdah Hathaleen, a prominent ⁠activist who was involved in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

The charges against Levi also include armed trespassing and malicious property damage during a July 2025 incident in which settlers operated ⁠a large excavator in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, setting off a confrontation with residents.

Hathaleen filmed the moment he was shot during the confrontation. Footage released by ‌the Israeli rights group B’Tselem shows ‌Levi draw a weapon and fire in Hathaleen’s direction. Hathaleen is then heard moaning as he falls to ‌the ground.

Thursday’s indictment is the first since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks that set off Israel’s war in Gaza and led to a sharp rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, B’Tselem said.

Israeli soldiers and settlers have since killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank, among them at least 240 children, according to UN data.

“The decision to indict Yinon Levi is the exception that proves the rule. The impunity Israel grants to soldiers and settlers who harm Palestinians is not a failure of the system. It is a central component of a policy designed to allow the violence to continue and escalate,” B’Tselem said.