Overview

• French Foreign Ministry declared the July 28 shooting of teacher and activist Awdah Muhammad Hathaleen near Umm al-Khair an act of terrorism, a first for settler violence.
• Israeli police have launched a formal investigation and arrested an Israeli citizen in connection with the attack in the southern West Bank.
• Hathaleen had collaborated on the Oscar-nominated documentary “No Other Land,” which documented Palestinian resistance under occupation.
• Extremist settler attacks have claimed over 30 Palestinian lives in the West Bank since early 2022, reflecting longstanding impunity.
• France has urged Israel to impose immediate sanctions on perpetrators and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.