A military judge on Wednesday ordered that four Palestinians suspected of stone-throwing during an incident in which Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen was killed remain in custody for eight more days, after the suspected Israeli shooter was freed to house arrest a day earlier.

Hathaleen, who was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” about Israeli home demolitions in the West Bank, was allegedly shot dead by Yinon Levi during an altercation near the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Kheir on Monday. Levi, who runs an illegal farming outpost in the area and is sanctioned by several Western countries, maintains that he acted in self-defense after being attacked by a group of Palestinians throwing rocks at him.

Wednesday’s legal proceedings highlighted the differences in treatment between settlers, who enjoy full Israeli civil rights, and Palestinians who are under Israeli military rule in the West Bank.

Israeli law requires suspects to be brought before a judge for a remand hearing within 24 hours, whereas Israeli military law allows authorities to wait up to 96 hours before bringing Palestinians before a judge.

Accordingly, Levi’s hearing was held at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, while the Palestinians detained in the incident appeared before a judge for the first time on Wednesday. Levi’s house arrest expires on Friday, while the four Palestinians suspected of stone-throwing will remain behind bars until at least next Thursday.

Nasser Odeh, who is representing the four Palestinian suspects, told the judge at the Ofer Military Court in the West Bank that his clients were held with their hands and feet shackled for 13 hours at a military base after their arrest on Monday.

In requesting an additional remand extension against the four Palestinians, the Israel Police’s representative pointed to damage incurred to Levi’s bulldozer and vehicle, while arguing that Levi felt that his life was in danger when he fired his weapon.

Police were also reportedly refusing to release Hathaleen’s body, demanding his commit to a series of conditions before doing so.

Hathaleen’s body was initially held by Israeli authorities so that they........

© The Times of Israel