Mourners attended on Thursday the funeral of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in the occupied West Bank whose body was handed over by Israel more than a week after a settler killed him.”He was killed by a hateful settler, his body was held for 11 days, and more than 20 people from the village were arrested” following the late July incident in the southern West Bank, said the slain activist’s brother, Aziz Hathaleen.The settler accused of the fatal shooting “was released at that very moment”, Aziz told AFP in the family’s hometown of Umm al-Khair, where Palestinians gathered to bury his brother’s body despite Israeli restrictions.Awdah Hathaleen, 31, was linked to Oscar-winning documentary film “No Other Land”, which focuses on the efforts of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta — a string of hamlets including Umm al-Khair — to prevent Israeli forces from destroying their homes.He was killed on July 28, with residents identifying the man holding the gun in a video of the incident as Yinon Levy, a settler sanctioned by the Britain, who was briefly detained but released the next day.Umm al-Khair resident Ibrahim Hathaleen told AFP that “we were prevented from receiving the martyr’s body” for days after his death, and Aziz said Israel had given the family several conditions to allow the funeral.The activist’s brother argued that the Israeli moves were meant to prevent a large gathering that would draw attention to his work opposing Israeli settlement in Masafer Yatta.”The first condition was that he not be buried in the area at all, and the second was that no mourning tent be set up”, said Ibrahim, who is also related to Awdah Hathaleen.An AFP journalist in Umm al-Khair said the Israeli army had set up checkpoints around the village and prevented some Palestinians and foreign activists from reaching the funeral site.About 100 mourners still managed to attend the funeral, many of them in tears, kissing Awdah’s body before joining prayers at a local mosque, the AFP journalist reported.Masafer Yatta, where he lived, is an area on the hills south of the Palestinian city of Hebron which has been declared a military zone by Israel.The fight of the area’s Palestinian residents against Israeli settlement expansion and violence from troops and settlers was the subject of “No Other Land”, which won Best Documentary at the Oscars in March.Shortly after Hathaleen’s killing, the film’s co-director Yuval Abraham posted a video of the incident on Instagram showing a man — identified as Levy — brandishing a gun and arguing with a group of people.Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has surged throughout the Gaza war that began in October 2023.At least 968 Palestinians, including militants but also civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the Gaza war broke out.At least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations over the same period, according to official Israeli data.

A Chicago man arrested for the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in the US capital Washington could potentially face the death penalty if convicted of murder and hate crime charges, officials said Thursday.US Attorney General Pam Bondi will ultimately decide whether to seek the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the May 21 attack, federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro told reporters.Rodriguez, 31, was arrested immediately after the shooting of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his fiancee, Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside the Capital Jewish Museum.Pirro said that in addition to two counts of first-degree murder, a grand jury has charged Rodriguez with hate crimes “because of his bias against the people of Israel.””We have a problem with anti-Semitism in this country,” Pirro said. “It’s a problem and we’re not going to tolerate it.”Rodriguez allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police after the shooting and told officers “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”FBI agent Reid Davis said Rodriguez is believed to have acted alone.”Based on his writings and communications, we believe he was a lone wolf actor motivated by anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian ideology with the goal of conducting a mass shooting to call attention to his political agenda,” Davis said.Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, was a researcher at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim, an American, worked for its public diplomacy department. The couple were engaged to be married.

The United Arab Emirates rejected on Thursday an announcement from Sudan’s armed forces saying they had destroyed an Emirati plane ferrying Colombian mercenaries into the country to back paramilitary rivals.Sudan has been locked in a war between its army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with the military long accusing Abu Dhabi of supporting the RSF — an allegation it denies.On Wednesday, army-aligned state TV said Sudan’s air force struck an Emirati plane as it landed at an RSF-controlled airport in the war-torn Darfur region, killing 40 Colombian soldiers for hire.A UAE official told AFP that the “unfounded allegations” were “entirely false” and not supported by any evidence.The official dismissed the latest claims as part of Sudan’s “ongoing campaign of disinformation and deflection”.A Sudanese military source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, had said the plane “was bombed and completely destroyed” at Darfur’s Nyala airport.Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his government was trying to find out how many Colombians died in the attack, adding: “We will see if we can bring their bodies back.”Sudan had accused the UAE earlier this week of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight against the army on behalf of the RSF.State TV said the plane had taken off from an airbase in the Gulf, carrying dozens of foreign fighters and military equipment intended for the RSF, which controls nearly all of Darfur.Nyala airport has recently come under repeated air strikes by the Sudanese army.- Foreign fighters at displacement camp -The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has accused the UAE of supplying advanced weaponry, including drones, to the RSF via the airport.Abu Dhabi denies the accusations, despite numerous reports of its involvement from UN experts, US political officials and international organisations.Reports of Colombian fighters in Darfur date back to late 2024 and have been deemed credible by UN experts.In recent days, a pro-army coalition in Darfur known as the Joint Forces reported the presence of more than 80 Colombian mercenaries involved in RSF operations in El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state.Some of the foreign fighters, the group said, were killed during the RSF’s latest failed assault on the city.Recent videos published by the army show mercenaries at a location that a spokesman identified as the Zamzam displacement camp near El-Fasher.”Civilians in areas near Zamzam have reported their belongings and vehicles stolen by mercenaries,” camp spokesman Mohamed Khamis Douda told AFP via satellite connection to circumvent a communications blackout.AFP could not independently verify the videos.- External actors -In May, Sudan’s army-aligned government officially declared the UAE an “aggressor state”, severing all diplomatic relations.The UAE responded by stating that the internationally-recognised Sudanese government “does not represent the legitimate government” of the country.On Wednesday, Sudan’s civil aviation authority claimed the UAE had imposed a ban on Sudanese planes from landing at Emirati airports and blocked a Sudanese airliner from taking off from Abu Dhabi. The UAE has not publicly responded to the reported flight ban.Last month, the latest US attempt to chart a way out of the conflict broke down as Egypt and the UAE, seen as key external players, disagreed on the role the warring parties would play in a potential peace process.Sudan’s newly appointed Prime Minister Kamil Idris travelled to Cairo on Thursday — his first official foreign trip since taking office.In a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Idris said there was “consensus” between the two countries on key regional and international issues.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who also met Idris, reiterated Egypt’s “steadfast support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan”.Sudan is now effectively split, with the army in control of the north, east and centre, and the RSF dominating nearly all of Darfur in the west as well as parts of the south.Both sides have faced claims of war crimes during the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands and created what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.