Reports: Palestinian activist previously detained at SFO killed in West Bank

San Francisco Chronicle​

5 days ago

Israeli settlers in the West Bank allegedly killed one of two Palestinians who were deported from San Francisco International Airport in June after they arrived in the U.S. for a speaking tour, according to Bay Area Palestinian activists and news reports.
Awdah Hathaleen — who came to the Bay Area in June with his cousin as part of an interfaith speaking tour about the occupation in Palestine — was allegedly shot by Israeli settlers on Monday, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center Lara Kiswani said.
Kiswani said Hathaleen died of his injuries Monday night, Palestine time. The Chronicle could not immediately independently confirm Hathaleen's death, though it was reported by at least one media outlet in Israel.
There are disputing accounts of what led to Hathaleen's killing.
Jewish Voice for Peace posted on Instagram that Israeli settlers invaded the small village of Umm al-Kheir — where Hathaleen is from — with a bulldozer on Monday. The post said that as Awdah and his family attempted to defend their homes, a settler shot Awdah in the chest. Awdah later died from his injuries after being taken by an Israeli ambulance, the post said.
The Times of Israel reported, based on another Israeli publication, that dozens of rioters from Umm al-Kheir were throwing stones at a man 'doing permitted construction on a new neighborhood in Carmel.' The report said Israeli police arrested one Israeli citizen involved in the shooting. Police told the Times that four Palestinians were detained by Israel Defense Forces, as well as two foreign tourists.
Awdah was an activist and English teacher. He is survived by his wife and three young children.
During the clash Monday, Hathaleen's relative was run over by a bulldozer and was in the hospital, according to the Jewish Voice for Peace post.
'His death was the result of brutal settler violence,' the post said. 'We reject settler violence and expansion, and we recommit ourselves to the courageous, loving resistance that Awda embodied — a spirit that inspired all who had the privilege of knowing him.'
The Palestinian West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War in June 1967 and has since become deeply divided in part due to the construction of more than 100 Israeli settlements, which are widely considered illegal. Tensions have only grown in the past two years after the October 7, 2023, attacks that began the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Masafer Yatta, the area where Awdah was killed, has frequently featured in news reports and documentaries as an example of tensions in the region. The recent Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land documented the ongoing Israeli occupation, settler violence and demolitions of Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta.
One of the documentary's journalists, Yuval Abraham, claims to have captured a video of the Israeli settler who shot Hathaleen in a post on X.
Kiswani told the Chronicle she felt crushed. She said her organization is in contact with family members and others in Palestine to get more details about what happened.
'They have deep ties to folks in the Bay Area, that's why we wanted him to speak out about what's happening in Palestine,' Kiswani said in an interview.
Hathaleen and his cousin were scheduled to speak in Alameda, Santa Clara, Oakland and other Bay Area cities, but they never made it out of SFO. U.S. Customs and Border Protection deported the two back to Qatar a day later.
CBP said in a statement at the time that 'after an interview by CBP, the individuals failed to establish they were admissible to the U.S. As such, they withdrew their applications for admission and departed the U.S.'
Phillip Weintraub, a member of Piedmont's Kehilla Community Synagogue, told the Chronicle he was shocked by the news of Hathaleen's killing. He organized one of the speaking events that Hathaleen was meant to participate in in June.
'I'm just devastated,' he said. 'Still in shock that this has happened.'
Weintraub said that on Sunday night, Awdah gave a talk via Zoom about his treatment during his stay at SFO. Weintraub said Awdah told the audience he was treated 'harshly the first day and… much kinder the second day.'
Weintraub said the two were initially told they would be banned from coming into the U.S. for five years, but after conversations with immigration officials, they opted to return to Qatar and have their visas revoked.
'Our impression was that the political pressure had some impact on how harshly immigration officials were responding,' Weintraub said.
Ko Lyn Cheang contributed to this report.