Mourners carry the body of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen during his funeral in the West Bank Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair, August 7, 2025
ISRAELI prosecutors plan to charge a settler over the killing of a Palestinian activist during a confrontation caught on video, launching a rare action against Jewish settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Attacks by settlers and home demolitions by the Israeli authorities have spiked dramatically over the past two years, but the death in July of Awdah Hathaleen has drawn particular attention, due to his involvement in last year’s Oscar-winning film No Other Land, which chronicled Palestinian villagers’ fight to stay on their land.
The case also stands out because the confrontation between Palestinians and Yinon Levi, an internationally sanctioned settler, was captured on video from multiple vantage points.
In footage that family members say was taken by Mr Hathaleen himself, Mr Levi can be seen firing at the person holding the camera.
Another video showed Mr Levi firing two shots without showing where the bullets struck.
An Israeli judge released Mr Levi from custody six months ago, citing a lack of evidence that he had fired the shots that killed Mr Hathaleen.
The attorney general’s office confirmed in a statement on Monday that it had initiated proceedings to charge Mr Levi. It did not specify the charges.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Israel Defense Forces soldier Rom Kovtun looks away from the scope of his sniper rifle in this undated photo.(Photo by Hind Rajab Foundation)
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed the complaint, citing universal jurisdiction and Chile’s law against genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
A Brussels-based human rights group on Monday filed a criminal complaint in Chile seeking the prosecution of an Israel Defense Forces sniper accused of taking part in the deadly 2024 siege and destruction of Gaza’s largest hospital.
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF)—named after the young Palestinian girl who was killed in January 2024 along with six relatives and two rescue workers by IDF troops in Gaza City—said it filed the complaint in the 8th Guarantee Court in Santiago, the Chilean capital, requesting investigation and prosecution of Rom Kovtun, an Israeli Ukrainian sniper in the 424th “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade, under Chilean Law 20.357.
HRF’s complaint was formally submitted by Chilean lawyer Pablo Andrés Araya Zacarías, a partner at Silva-Riesco Abogados. The filing invokes universal jurisdiction—the legal principle empowering states to investigate and prosecute individuals for heinous crimes regardless of where they occurred—based on Kovtun’s presence in Chile and Israel’s refusal to prosecute him.
According to the complaint, Kovtun took part in the March-April 2024 siege and attack on al-Shifa Hospital in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. The World Health Organization said at least 21 patients were killed during attacks on the facility, while Gaza officials claimed the toll was much higher.
Survivors and witnesses said IDF troops executed civilians during the raid on al-Shifa, including 13 children. The IDF denied the allegations. Doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers were also abducted and allegedly tortured by their IDF captors. Israeli claims that Hamas fighters were using al-Shifa as a command center were subsequently debunked as lies.
Hundreds of Palestinian bodies—some with bound limbs and signs of torture and execution—were found outside the hospital after IDF troops withdrew from the area, although it is not known if they were all killed there.
“The targeting and destruction of a functioning hospital during a military siege strike at the core of international humanitarian law,” HRF general director Dyab Abou Jahjah said on Monday. “When evidence indicates that a sniper participated in such an operation, domestic courts cannot look away. Universal jurisdiction exists to ensure that the most serious crimes do not go unexamined simply because they were committed abroad.”
The @hindrajabfoundation.be has filed a complaint in 🇨🇱 #Chile, seeking investigation and prosecution of sniper Rom Kovtun for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The filing details his alleged participation in the siege and destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital.→ https://bit.ly/4tF1EJt
HRF head of litigation Natacha Bracq said that “international humanitarian law grants special protection to hospitals, medical personnel, and the wounded.”
“The encirclement and destruction of a functioning medical complex, combined with the deprivation of food, water, and medical care, are not collateral damage—they constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide,” she added.
Israel is facing a genocide case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has issued multiple provisional orders for Israel to avoid genocidal acts in Gaza. Critics say Israel has ignored the orders.
Chile embraced universal jurisdiction in the decades following the fall of the US-backed military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, whose 1998 arrest in London for crimes against humanity stemmed from an international warrant issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón based on universal jurisdiction.
HRF, which was founded in the Belgian capital in September 2024, has filed numerous legal complaints targeting alleged IDF war criminals. In one case, Israel helped an IDF soldier targeted by the group while vacationing in Brazil to flee the country in order to avoid arrest.
In October 2024, HRF filed what it called an “unprecedented” complaint at the ICC—which, like the ICJ, is located in The Hague, Netherlands—against 1,000 IDF troops accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza. One year later, HRF filed another ICC complaint against 24 IDF members allegedly involved in the killing of Hind Rajab, her relatives, and two paramedics.
While there have been no known prosecutions of any individuals targeted by HRF, last May Peruformally opened a probe into “an Israeli national accused of participating in the genocide in Gaza.”
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.UK Labour Party Foreign Secretary David Lammy repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
NHS staff blockade the entrance to NHS England’s headquarters in central London demanding the cancellation of its contract with Palantir, which supplies advanced technology to Israel’s military, April 3, 2024
LABOUR should have ended the £300 million NHS contract with Palantir, campaigners said today after it emerged officials warned the US tech firm’s reputation would hinder its rollout.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting was privately briefed last June that “public perception” of Palantir — which works for the Israeli military and US Ice operations — was affecting delivery of the AI data platform and would “make it harder to go further,” documents released to campaign group Foxglove revealed.
Fewer than half of health authorities had started using the technology by last summer amid opposition from the public and doctors.
The fallout over Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein also affected Palantir’s image, as it employed the former ambassador’s lobbying company, Global Counsel.
Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Dr Tony O’Sullivan said: “This initial NHS contract with Palantir was made by Matt Hancock and the Tories in 2020, but Labour should have ended it.
“Well over £1 billion of public money is now in Palantir’s hands… despite being steeped in the blood of migrants hounded by Ice in the US and the people of Gaza and the West Bank.”
He urged Palantir to be “out of the NHS” and patients’ data when the contract is re-examined in 2027.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on October 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. [Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is seeking clarifications from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over whether he incited US President Donald Trump to issue an “insult” amid controversy over a pardon request, local media said Sunday.
On Thursday, Trump said that the Israeli president’s hitherto refusal to pardon Netanyahu of his corruption charges is “shameful,” a day after the US president met with Netanyahu at the White House.
Herzog “is seeking clarifications from Netanyahu following sharp criticism directed at him by US President Trump,” the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.
The Israeli president “wants to know whether Netanyahu was behind the remarks, which officials described as a serious affront to Israel’s sovereign institutions,” it added.
“If it emerges that Netanyahu encouraged Trump to make the comments, it would constitute a ‘red line’,” the paper said, citing sources close to Herzog.
According to the sources, Herzog received dozens of inquiries over the weekend from within the US and Israel, making it necessary to demand clarifications from Netanyahu.
“There is a difference between criticism and insult, and what we heard from Trump was an insult. Someone clearly stirred him up,” an official told Yedioth Ahronoth.
Last November, Trump sent a letter to Herzog asking him to pardon Netanyahu, who is on trial in corruption cases.
Netanyahu formally submitted a pardon request on Nov. 30 last year, seeking relief from the corruption charges without admitting wrongdoing or withdrawing from public life.
Since his trial began, Netanyahu has consistently denied all accusations. Under Israeli law, however, a presidential pardon can only be granted following an admission of guilt.
Beyond the domestic proceedings, Netanyahu is also facing international legal scrutiny. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, where more than 72,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 171,000 others injured in a brutal assault since October 2023.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli authorities construct a new settlement road north of East Jerusalem, a Jerusalem governorate official reportedly said on February 5, 2026. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli government approved a proposal on Sunday to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property,” for the first time since the Israeli occupation of the territory in 1967.
The public broadcaster KAN said the proposal was submitted by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
“The initial goal is the gradual settlement of 15% of Area C by 2030,” Israel Hayom newspaper commented ahead of the government decision.
Under the Oslo II Accord signed in 1995, Area A is under full Palestinian control, Area B is under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control, while Area C, accounting for about 61% of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control.
According to the paper, the main implication of the government decision is “the conversion of very large areas into state land, provided that no other ownership is proven.”
“In this sense, even in the absence of a political decision to apply the law, Israel significantly strengthens its hold on the land by registering plots that are not owned by other parties in the land registry,” it added.
The Oslo II Accord limits land registration by the Palestinian Authority to Areas A and B, while prohibiting it in Area C.
If approved, the Israeli government’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) will be responsible for organizing and registering land ownership in Area C.
The process includes issuing sale permits, collecting fees, and overseeing registration procedures, while preventing the Palestinian Authority from carrying out such tasks in those areas.
The move is part of a series of measures approved by Israel’s Security Cabinet last week aimed at expanding illegal settlement building and increasing Tel Aviv’s control of the occupied West Bank.
According to Israeli media, the measures include repealing a law that barred the sale of land in the West Bank to illegal Israeli settlers, unsealing land ownership records, and shifting authority for building permits in a settlement bloc near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.
Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since launching its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinians view the escalation — including killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion — as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen during his funeral in the West Bank Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair, August 7, 2025
