Um al Jair: Palestinian village faces increased settler siege after activist's killing

The Palestinian Bedouin village of Um al Jair in the occupied West Bank is experiencing heightened pressure and siege a year after activist Awdah al Hathalin was fatally shot by an Israeli settler. His brother, Jalil al Hathalin, the community leader, stated that the alleged killer, Yinon Levi, lives nearby and walks freely with a weapon, while no formal charges have yet been filed.

Awdah al Hathalin, a 31-year-old father of three and a teacher who collaborated with the Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem, was killed on July 28, 2025. The confrontation occurred during the establishment of a new settlement in the heart of the community. Levi was briefly detained but later released. His death, and his collaboration on the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land,' has made Um al Jair a symbol of escalating tensions in Masafer Yata.

Residents describe the establishment of the Carmel settlement in the 1980s as the beginning of a progressive reduction in their access to land and resources. Jalil al Hathalin reports that settler violence significantly increased starting in 2018, and the situation worsened dramatically after the war in Gaza began in October 2023. The community's sheep population has plummeted from around 4,000 to just 700 due to movement restrictions and increasingly violent settler attacks.

The pressure extends to daily life within homes. One resident, Salem, showed how the Israeli army has turned his backyard into a military zone following the installation of a new settler outpost nearby. His livestock pen, the family's primary income source, is now only accessible for brief periods a few days a week for feeding. Even the family's only latrine is within a restricted military zone, rendering it unusable. "The livestock are also in prison," Salem summarized, highlighting the severe limitations imposed on the community.