Palestinian activist previously detained at SFO killed in West Bank

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A Palestinian humanitarian activist who was previously denied entry into the United States after arriving at San Francisco International Airport last month was killed Monday in an attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to U.S. Congresswoman Lateefah Simon.

Awdah Hathaleen, who was a Palestinian community leader and English teacher, was fatally shot in his village of Umm al-Khair, Simon said. The Israeli military said an armed Israeli civilian opened fire at a group of Palestinians after they threw rocks, according to Associated Press reporting.

Hathaleen, who helped film the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was invited to the San Francisco Bay Area last month by local faith communities to speak about his experiences. After arriving at SFO on June 12, he was detained at the airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection before eventually being deported back to the Middle East.

According to Simon, both Hathaleen and his cousin, whom he was traveling with, held valid visas.

“No Other Land” won Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards and depicts residents of the West Bank struggling to stop the Israeli military from demolishing Palestinian villages. According to the movie’s director, Basel Adra, Hathaleen was killed in an area documented in the film.

Executive Director Zahra Billoo of the Council on American-Islamic Relations SF Bay Area office said, “We mourn alongside his family and the Bay Area communities who had hoped to hear his story firsthand. The U.S. government must be held accountable—not only for denying entry to Hathaleen when he sought to speak truth to power here, but also for continuing to fund and shield a regime that enables this violence.”