A daylight shooting on a dry West Bank hillside resulted in the killing of 31-year-old activist Odeh Hathalin after Jewish settlers from the illegal Carmel outpost damaged an olive grove. A settler who runs a demolition business contracted by the Israel Defense Forces fired a handgun when residents tried to intervene. The incident received little Israeli press attention and produced no legal consequences. The event raises concerns that violence in the West Bank could escalate into a broader front against Palestinians as the Gaza war persists and political leaders struggle to find a viable exit strategy.
But it might signal the opening of yet another front in the cascading wars unleashed by the October 7, 2023, attacks. Jewish settlers from Carmel, an outpost that is illegal under Israeli law, approached the nearby Palestinian Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair in a large construction digger and began to damage an olive grove, residents of the village told me when I recently visited.
When residents tried to stop them, some by throwing rocks, Yinon Levi, a settler who runs a demolition business that contracts with the Israel Defense Forces, fired several rounds from a handgun, killing the 31-year-old activist Odeh Hathalin. I spent the past week traveling across Israel and the West Bank, meeting with officials from the Israeli government, military, and opposition, as well as Palestinian political leaders and activists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have emerged from the depths of October 7-when he told President Joe Biden that "in the Middle East, if you're seen as weak, you're roadkill"-in some triumph, having vanquished virtually all of Israel's enemies, culminating with the recent bombing of Iran. But he failed to seize the opportunity to stop the fighting in Gaza.
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