Israel detained and then deported an American nurse who tried to save the life of Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist who worked on the Oscar-winning documentary film “No Other Land.”

After Israeli settler Yinon Levi allegedly shot and killed Hathaleen on Monday in Umm al-Khair, a village in the occupied West Bank, the critical care nurse gave Hathaleen four rounds of CPR. She cradled his head in her hands, checking his pulse and whispering “You’re OK,” as he bled out, the nurse told The Intercept. The medical worker asked not to be named because they fear for their safety. Hathaleen was then taken away in an ambulance, where he died before reaching the hospital.

About 20 feet away, and minutes before Hathaleen was shot, another Israeli settler in an excavator tried to destroy the village’s main water pipe, according to media reports. A local man named Ahmad, Awdah’s cousin, was struck in the head with the excavator’s arm and nearly knocked unconscious after he tried to stop the driver.

Turning to Ahmad after Hathaleen was taken away, the nurse administered a neurological exam; he was severely concussed with diminished mental function before he too was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

“They don’t want people to feel comfortable helping Palestinians.”

Soon after, on Monday evening, Israeli law enforcement officers detained the American nurse and an Italian citizen on the scene. The authorities took them to a police station, where they were detained for nearly 24 hours. In detention, the nurse said they recognized five Palestinians from the village sitting on the ground, blindfolded and zip-tied. At the same time, the nurse said, Levi was walking around freely and sharing cigarettes with the police officers — “no handcuffs or anything.” After reporting as ordered to another police outpost, the nurse was deported on Thursday to Jordan.

The nurse believes it’s because they witnessed the settler incursion and violence, then provided medical care to Hathaleen and his cousin.

“They don’t want people to feel comfortable helping Palestinians,” the nurse said.

In the attack on the village of Umm al-Khair, several Americans attempted to help the Palestinians, according to interviews with eyewitnesses, and they were detained by Israeli authorities. In one of the cases, the American was stopped by authorities........

© The Intercept