ISRAELI SETTLER PREVIOUSLY SANCTIONED BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FATALLY SHOOTS PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST FEATURED IN OSCAR-WINNING DOCUMENTARY

U.S. DROPPED SANCTIONS--GLOBAL COMMUNITY DIDN’T: SHOOTER WHO KILLED PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST STILL FACES INTERNATIONAL RESTRICTIONS

Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler at the center of a sanctions rollback by the Trump administration shot and killed Palestinian activist Odeh Hathalin on Monday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Two other Palestinians were wounded in the incident.

After the shooting, Israeli judicial authorities freed Levi and placed him under house arrest. He is not allowed to contact anyone involved in the incident for 21 days.

The removal of sanctions against Levi, first reported by The (b)(7)(D) on January 24, were lifted that same day by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC’s action lifting the sanctions was in response to President Donald Trump’s January 20th order cancelling dozens of Biden-era executive orders, including Biden’s Executive Order 14115 which targeted organizations and persons “undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank.” Levi was amongst those initially sanctioned by the Biden administration.

President Trump’s cancellation of Executive Order 14115 lifted sanctions on Israeli settler groups accused of destabilizing the West Bank. Ironically, as reported by The (b)(7)(D), it also rescinded OFAC sanctions against Arin al-Usud, a Palestinian terrorist organization designated in June 2024 for undermining peace and security in the region. Moreover, the OFAC order lifting the sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank listed Yinon Levi first among the Israeli settlers approved for sanctions relief.

France, which said it would recognize a Palestinian state in September, condemned the shooting of Hathalin, grouping the killing among a broader list of violent incidents, stating “these violent acts are acts of terrorism.” Levi was sanctioned by the UK Foreign Office on February 12, 2024, and by the European Union in March 2024. Additional sanctions were imposed against Levi by Australia, Canada, Japan, and Belgium.

Hathalin had worked as a consultant and was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary entitled “No Other Land,” about Israeli settlers’ attempts to seize Palestinian villages. The film won the Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The filmmakers, a collective of Israeli and Palestinian activists, told Variety that they hoped it would “touch on the political roots, find a political solution and end the occupation.”

Variety reported that the film secured a Middle East distribution deal after its Oscar win. However, the Israeli Army halted the film’s press tour in the West Bank

In March, No Other Land’s director, Hamdan Ballal was beaten by the Israeli Army. The parent organization of the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences responded by releasing a statement to its members stating that the “Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints” without mentioning either Ballal or “No Other Land,” sparking controversy.

Even as No Other Land swept awards at major festivals worldwide—Berlin, New York, and beyond—its director, Hamdan Ballal, was beaten by the Israeli Army in March. The Academy’s initial statement condemned violence against artists but conspicuously omitted Ballal and the film’s name, prompting over 800 members, including Mark Ruffalo, to demand acknowledgment. Under pressure, the Academy apologized for its oversight, explicitly naming Ballal and reaffirming its condemnation of violence and suppression of free speech.