Awdah Hathaleen

Awdah Hathaleen was an activist from Umm Al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills region of the West Bank. He was an English teacher in his village, having studied English teaching at Hebron University. In July 2025, he was shot dead by an Israeli settler.

Recent Articles
Eid al-Hathaleen stands atop the rubble of his home after it was demolished by the Israeli Civil Administration, Umm al-Khair, occupied West Bank, July 7, 2024. (Emily Glick)
In Umm al-Khair, the occupation is damning us to multigenerational trauma
I saw the first bulldozers arrive in my village 17 years ago. Now, after the most brutal weeks in our history, my son will carry similarly painful memories.
By Awdah Hathaleen July 22, 2024
Israeli soldiers accompany Palestinian students heading back home to the village of Tuba, at the end of their school day in the village of A-Tuwani, as they walk on a two-kilometer dirt road by the Israeli settlement of Maon, West Bank, September 28, 2021. (Oren Ziv)
In Masafer Yatta, teachers like me can’t guarantee our students an education
With schools facing demolition orders and soldiers detaining students and teachers for hours, obstacles to education are becoming insurmountable.
By Awdah Hathaleen November 15, 2022
Thousands of Palestinians attend Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, July 9, 2022. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
An hour and 22 years away: Visiting Jerusalem from the West Bank
Israel's permit regime can make it near-impossible for Palestinians in the West Bank to enter Jerusalem. But after waiting my entire life, I finally made it.
By Awdah Hathaleen August 15, 2022
Haj Suleiman from Umm al-Kheir, one of the West Bank villages that grazes in the area of Ein al-Beida, protests Israeli settlement development, March 8, 2021. (Natasha Westheimer)
‘We have all lost our parent’: Umm al-Khair mourns an iconic activist
Haj Suleiman, who dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of his village, was killed by an Israeli police truck in January, leaving his community mired in grief.
By Awdah Hathaleen May 23, 2022
Chicken inside a chicken barn at the Givat Olam organic farm, near the Jewish settlement of Itamar, West Bank, April 9, 2012. (Nati Shohat/Flas90)
When an Israeli chicken farm has more rights than a Palestinian village
From expropriating our land to poisoning our agriculture, settlement farms serve Israel's goal of forcing us out of our homes in the South Hebron Hills.
By Ali Awad and Awdah Hathaleen March 10, 2022
Haj Suleiman Hathaleen protesting in Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank. (Emily Glick)
Israeli police shattered this Palestinian elder’s bones — and drove away
An elderly Palestinian activist is clinging to life after an Israeli police tow truck ran him over. Such violence could befall any of us in Masafer Yatta.
By Ali Awad and Awdah Hathaleen January 11, 2022
Palestinian farmers search the remains of concrete shelters demolished by the Israeli military, A-Tuwani, West Bank, April 2, 2014. (Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills)
We don’t just live through one home demolition — we live through them all
When you're witnessing a demolition, it feels as if the destruction is carrying on for hours. In reality, it takes only a few minutes to dismantle our lives.
By Awdah Hathaleen November 18, 2021
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