The Palestinian Authority’s Education Ministry has said that an illegal Zionist settler killed a prominent activist linked to the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land during an attack on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry said Awdah Muhammad Hathaleen "was shot dead by settlers... during their attack on the village of Umm al-Kheir" near Al-Khaleel, in the south of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli police confirmed that they were investigating what they described as an "incident near Carmel," a nearby settlement.

"An Israeli citizen was detained at the scene and then arrested by police for questioning," police said.

"Four Palestinians were arrested” by Israeli military soldiers in connection with the incident.

Police added that "the death of a Palestinian was confirmed; his exact involvement in the incident is being verified."

Hathaleen was a resident of Masafer Yatta, a collection of rural hamlets in the southern of the occupied West Bank that Israel has declared “a closed military zone.”

The area has long been the target of Israeli demolition campaigns and illegal settler encroachment.

A peacemaker dreamer

His efforts to resist displacement were documented in No Other Land, which won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards in March.

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli co-director of the film, posted a video on Instagram appearing to show the aftermath of the shooting, with a man holding a gun while arguments and shouting in both Arabic and Hebrew can be heard.

"An Israeli settler just shot Awdah Hathaleen in the lungs," Abraham wrote.

"A remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta."

Roughly three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank alongside nearly half a million illegal Zionist settlers.

The settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Violence continues

At least four Palestinians were wounded and three others detained across these incidents, according to Palestinian sources.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,009 Palestinians and wounded more than 7,000 in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports.

In a July 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.