Israelis protest over settler killing of Awdah Hathaleen
Israeli protesters hold placards and portraits of activist Awdah Hathaleen at a protest in central Jerusalem on Sunday
Family of slain activist Awdah Hathaleen denied funeral as Israel withholds body
Fathi Nimer, the co-director of Palestinian Policy Network Al-Shabaka, says the withholding of the body of Awdah Hathaleen is a strategy to break the spirit of the Palestinian activist’s family and community.
“This is the denial of any form of closure for the family,” Nimer told Al Jazeera, adding that there are hundreds of Palestinian bodies held by the Israeli army in cemeteries. “This is a tactic to break the spirit of the village and to break the cycle of resistance that Awdah was inspiring.”
Hathaleen, a 31-year-old activist working to stop Israel’s expulsions of villagers of Masafer Yatta from their homes, was shot dead by an Israeli settler last week.
So far, Israeli authorities have refused to release his body for burial. They are demanding that the family agree to certain conditions for the body to be returned, including limiting the funeral to 15 people.
Nimer said it is unlikely that Hathaleen’s killing will bring any significant change, unless the international community applies a lot more pressure on Israel.
“These settlers don’t sprout out of nowhere. They are supported by the state, they have electricity, power, army support, and it’s not just individuals – so sanctions on individuals are not going to be the solution, neither are, unfortunately, marches,” Nimer said.
“There needs to be international actions to sanction Israel to stop this kind of behaviour.”
Awdah Hathaleen, left, with a group of his students
Israeli settlers ‘feel emboldened’ to attack and displace Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli settlers storming into a village … and trying to chase out communities have been an ongoing affair for weeks, months and even years, especially in those areas on the south hill of Hebron. You have similar happening in the areas around Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank and also around Ramallah.
Now this is all part of a campaign to displace Palestinians. And if you look at the numbers, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, since the beginning of the year, there have been 740 settler attacks.
Since October 7, 2023, more than 48,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been forcibly displaced – the aim being that you displace the Palestinians and then you create settler outposts.
And now they’re emboldened as they have political cover within the Israeli government, very strong figures Itamar Ben-Gvir and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who can make or break Prime Minister Netanyahu.
They feel emboldened that they can go on [attacking and displacing Palestinians] without any kind of repercussions.
