One Israeli settler wey dem sabi for violent wahala shoot one Palestinian journalist, Odeh Muhammad Hadalin, on Monday, na wetin di Palestinian Authority tok.
Hadalin, wey be 31 years old, become popular last year because of di work wey e do for one Oscar-winning documentary, No Other Land, wey show how Palestinians dey try stop Israeli military from demolishing dia villages for Masafer Yatta, wey dey di occupied West Bank. Dis area dey stretch across di eastern border of Israel, wey dem capture together wit East Jerusalem and Gaza for di 1967 war.
Di Israeli settler wey kill Hadalin, Yinon Levi, don dey sanctioned by di US and European Union since 2024 because of di violent attacks wey e don do against Palestinians before. But di Trump administration remove di sanction early dis year, even though di EU and UK still blacklist am.
Di Palestinian Authority tok say Hadalin na “settlers shoot am dead” during one “attack for di village of Umm al-Khair.”
One of di four co-directors of di documentary share video for social media wey show di Israeli settler dey shout and dey carry gun di time wey dem shoot Hadalin.
“One Israeli settler just shoot Odeh Hadalin for chest, di man na strong activist wey help us film No Other Land... Na him dey for di video dey fire anyhow,” na wetin Yuval Abraham write.
Basel Adra, another co-director of di documentary, tok say Hadalin na “dem slaughter am” as e dey stand for di community centre for him village.
“… one settler fire bullet wey enter him chest and take him life. Na so Israel dey erase us – one life at a time,” she tok.
Context of impunity and escalating violence
Di Biden administration impose sanctions for eight different times for 2024 on top 17 people and 16 entities because dem commit “extremist settler violence for di [occupied] West Bank.” Di sanction restrict dem from use formal banking channels.
But as President Trump take oath for January 20, e sign one executive order wey lift di sanctions.
Even though di international focus dey on di war for Gaza since October 7, 2023, di occupied West Bank don still dey see plenty settler attacks and military incursions wey don kill and injure hundreds of people.
UN statistics show say as many as 159 Palestinians don die for di occupied West Bank between January 1 and July 21.
Apart from di security forces, Israeli settlers dey always cause wahala for Palestinian villages for di occupied West Bank.
For example, di UN Office for di Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) document at least 27 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians between July 15 and 21 wey cause injury, property damage or both.
Israeli settlers also vandalise more than 560 olive, almond, avocado, fig, and grape trees and saplings during di same seven-day period.
Israel dey use dis settlements, wey dey illegal under international law, as excuse to delay di establishment of one Palestinian state wey go dey connected and viable. About three million Palestinians dey live for di occupied West Bank under Israeli military rule, while di Palestinian Authority, wey be Fatah-controlled government body, dey exercise small control for population centres.
Di presence of Israeli settlements and di infrastructure wey follow am, like settler-only roads and military checkpoints, dey restrict di movement of Palestinians, reduce job opportunities and dey affect trade and commerce.
