Amnesty International condemned the murder of a prominent Palestinian activist, Awdah Al-Hathaleen, in a press release on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and the failure of authorities to act to prevent such attacks.

Amnesty International senior director for research and advocacy Erika Guevara Rosas noted that Hathaleen had “recently warned UK Members of Parliament about threats to his life.”

Al-Hathaleen was killed on Monday, fatally shot in the chest by Israeli settler Yinon Levi. According to Amnesty International, “state-backed settlers” were bulldozing and destroying “a sewage pipeline and running over olive trees in Umm Al-Kheir,” on the West Bank.

Video footage on X (formerly Twitter) shows Levi waving a firearm and firing several shots during a confrontation, while others flee the scene. Levi is under US sanctions for violent extremism on the West Bank, including acts of “destroying property, assaulting civilians, and violence against Palestinians.”

Levi was subsequently arrested and released by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court to house arrest until Friday. According to an Israeli news report, Levi claimed self-defense in that “a large number of rioters” were throwing rocks at him and preventing “construction work.” The police are allegedly seeking to charge Levi with reckless manslaughter.

Rosas criticized the response by Israeli authorities:

The deliberate failure of Israeli authorities to conduct genuine and impartial investigations into settler attacks against Palestinians demands immediate and independent international investigations into this killing and other such attacks… Investigations must address the role of Israeli authorities, such as the Israeli police and military who directly contribute to or enable settler violence…

UN experts last week also addressed settler violence on the West Bank, calling the attacks on Palestinians and destruction of property a “systematic pattern of human rights violations” and forced displacement. The UN warned that “silence and inaction only embolden further violations,” calling on the international community to act.

Under international law, the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination, and civilians are protected from forced displacement.  Violence against civilians is prohibited under the Geneva Convention, and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on July 19, 2024, calls for the evacuation of all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.