Palestinian Teacher Awdah Al-Hathaleen Shot Dead in West Bank

Umm Al-Khair, West Bank – Awdah Al-Hathaleen, a Palestinian teacher from the West Bank, was shot dead today during an altercation with an Israeli settler, family members and local journalists report.

Phillip Weintraub, a lead organizer with the Palestinian solidarity committee at Kehilla Community Synagogue, confirmed the news of Al-Hathaleen’s death. He learned through Al-Hathaleen’s cousin that the incident occurred shortly after tensions escalated in the village.

Weintraub noted, “The settlers had brought a large bulldozer into the village yesterday. So they were predicting something bad was going to happen today.” Al-Hathaleen and his cousin, Eid Hthaleen, had attempted to visit San Francisco in June to share their experiences living in the West Bank.

The two were sponsored by Kehilla Community Synagogue, where they had strong ties. However, upon arriving at San Francisco International Airport, they were detained and later deported back to the Middle East.

Weintraub described the situation in the West Bank as “horrific,” but he did not believe there was any connection between the U.S. visa incident and today’s shooting.

The village of Umm Al-Khair gained international attention for its struggles, notably featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land.” Yuval Abraham, a journalist and co-director of the film, shared an update on the shooting on social media.

He wrote, “An Israeli settler just shot Odeh Hadalin in the lungs.” In a follow-up post, Abraham confirmed, “Odeh just died. Murdered.”

While it is unclear who fired the fatal shot, Al-Hathaleen, a father of three young children, was taken to a hospital for his injuries but succumbed a few hours later.

Note: Awdah Al-Hathaleen is also referred to as Ouda Alhadlin in some documents, although friends report he preferred the former spelling.