Overview

• After 10 days of negotiations and a women-led hunger strike, Israeli forces returned Awdah Hathaleen’s remains on August 7 under the condition of a restricted night burial
• The settler accused of shooting Hathaleen, Yinon Levi, was released from brief house arrest after a Jerusalem court accepted his self-defense claim and has since returned to the West Bank site
• The Israel Defense Forces designated Umm al-Khair a closed military zone and detained villagers and foreign activists in the wake of the shooting; all detainees have now been released without charges
• More than 60 women from the village launched a hunger strike on July 31 to demand the body’s return, marking a rare act of nonviolent resistance in the Hebron Hills
• Local residents continue to call for legal accountability and stronger protections against escalating settler violence that has surged since October 2023