Israeli settlers beat American to death in West Bank; US says it’s aware
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Palestinian-American beaten to death by illegal Zionist settlers in occupied West Bank
Sayfollah Musallet, 23, was visiting relatives in the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya. He was beaten unconscious near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. His family said settlers prevented ambulances from reaching him for hours. By the time he arrived at a hospital, he had died from his injuries. A second man, Mohammad Rizq Hussein al Shalabi, was also killed in the same attack. The US State Department confirmed it was aware of reports of a US citizen killed.
Sayfollah Musallet, 23, was visiting relatives in the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya when he was beaten unconscious near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah.
His family said settlers prevented ambulances from reaching him for hours.
By the time he arrived at a hospital, he had died from his injuries.
“He was injured and remained so for four hours. The army prevented us from reaching him and did not allow us to take him away,” said Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz, a resident of Musallet’s hometown, according to Times of Israel.
A second man, Mohammad Rizq Hussein al Shalabi, was also killed in the same attack.
He was reportedly shot and left bleeding at the scene, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident, which took place during what it described as a “violent confrontation” involving arson, property damage, and physical clashes.
No arrests have been announced.
Loved one
The US State Department confirmed it was aware of reports of a US citizen killed in the occupied West Bank, saying: “We have no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” but declined further comment out of respect for the family’s privacy, according to Zeteo.
Musallet, born in Florida and raised in Port Charlotte, had been visiting Palestine since June.
He was remembered by relatives as a “sweet, gentle” person who helped run the family’s ice cream shop in the US.
“Everyone loved him,” said his cousin, Fatmah Muhammad.
Footage from the aftermath showed his body being carried through the streets, wrapped in a Palestinian flag and surrounded by mourners.
Massive attacks
Local sources said Illegal Zionist settlers attacked Palestinians protesting the construction of a new outpost near Sinjil.
Palestinian media reported that settlers smashed the windows of an ambulance at the scene.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded over 2,000 settler attacks against Palestinians and their property since January 2024.
More than 350 Palestinians have been wounded this year alone in such incidents.
Musallet is the seventh American reportedly killed in the region since October 7, 2023 — six of them by Israeli forces.
According to the Palestinian Authority, over 950 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during that time.
Israeli Settlers Beat American to Death in Illegally Occupied West Bank: Family, Health Ministry
Sayfollah Musallat, a dual U.S.-Palestinian citizen, was killed in the illegally occupied West Bank. He was visiting family in the Palestinian town of al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya. A second man, 23-year-old Mohammad Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers, and “there have been no arrests yet,” the Times of Israel reported. The Israeli army said it was ‘aware of reports’ of the incident and that it was “being looked into by the Shin Bet security service and Israel Police” The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it “strongly condemns these racist Israeli settlers, backed and enabled by the Netanyahu government, for beating an American citizen to death in theoccupied West Bank” The death came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel after meeting with President Donald Trump and congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. Earlier this week, Zeteo asked several Republican senators if they knew how many Americans had been killed by Israel in the last 21 months. None of them could answer.
A spokesperson for the ministry, Annas Abu El Ezz, told Agence France-Press that 23-year-old Musallat “died after being severely beaten all over his body by settlers in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, this afternoon.”
Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz, from the nearby village of Al-Mazraa Al-Sharqiya, said that “the young man was injured and remained so for four hours. The [Israeli] army prevented us from reaching him and did not allow us to take him away.”
“When we finally managed to reach him, he was taking his last breath,” he added.
The Times of Israel reported that the “ministry later said a second man, 23-year-old Mohammad Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers,” and “there have been no arrests yet.”
According to the Tel Aviv-based newspaper Haaretz, “The Israeli army said it was ‘aware of reports’ of the incident and that it was ‘being looked into by the Shin Bet security service and Israel Police.'”
Zeteo’s Prem Thakker spoke with two of Musallat’s cousins, Fatmah Muhammad and another granted anonymity due to safety concerns. They said that he grew up in Port Charlotte, Florida, and arrived in June to visit family in the Palestinian town of al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya.
As Thakker detailed:
Muhammad described Musallat as “one of those kids that everyone loves” with a “beautiful heart,” a “sweet, gentle kid, very genuine,” everyone attests as funny and bright.
In Florida, he helped run a family ice cream shop, a place where his personality shone through, his family members said.
Muhammad and the other family source said that the entire Palestinian town where the family is from is devastated.
“There’s no justice there. You can’t call the police. You can’t call the Israeli government. The murderers just get to walk away,” Muhammad said.
Since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, the Israel Defense Forces have killed over 57,800 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip—which has led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). During that time, IDF soldiers and Israeli settlers’ sometimes deadly violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has also surged.
Additionally, despite the ICJ’s July 2024 finding that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid that must end as soon as possible, and Israeli settler colonization of the West Bank amounts to unlawful annexation, there are growing calls in Israel’s government to formally annex the West Bank.
Musallat’s death came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—a fugitive from the International Criminal Court accused of continuing the mass slaughter and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza to stay in power—returned to Israel after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. this week.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, said in a Friday statement that “we strongly condemn these racist Israeli settlers, backed and enabled by the Netanyahu government, for beating an American citizen to death in the occupied West Bank.”
“This murder is only the latest killing of an American citizen by illegal Israeli settlers or soldiers,” he noted. “Every other murder of an American citizen has gone unpunished by the American government, which is why the Israeli government keeps wantonly killing American Palestinians and, of course, other Palestinians. If President Trump will not even put America first when Israel murders American citizens, then this is truly an Israel First administration.”
According to Thakker: “Musallat is at least the seventh American killed in the West Bank, Gaza, or Lebanon since October 7, 2023, including six killed by Israeli forces. Earlier this week, Zeteo asked several Republican senators if they knew how many Americans had been killed by Israel in the last 21 months. None of them could answer.”
US aware of reported death of American after beating by Israeli settlers
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported death. Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, aged in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers. Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. Israel has expanded and consolidated settlements in the West Bank as part of the steady integration of these territories into the state of Israel in breach of international law, the U.N. human rights office said in March. It said last year Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was aware of the reported death of a U.S. citizen in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after reports emerged of Israeli settlers fatally beating a Palestinian American.
Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the local health ministry, said Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, aged in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers on Friday evening in an attack that also injured many people in a town north of Ramallah.
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Relatives of Musallat, who was from Tampa, Florida, were also quoted by the Washington Post as saying he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.
“We are aware of reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding the department had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
The Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said rocks were hurled at Israelis near Sinjil and that “a violent confrontation developed in the area”.
Israel has expanded and consolidated settlements in the West Bank as part of the steady integration of these territories into the state of Israel in breach of international law, the U.N. human rights office said in March.
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Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids, has intensified since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in late 2023.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations and says it is fighting in self-defense after the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israeli killings of U.S. citizens in the West Bank in recent years include those of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.
The United Nations’ highest court said last year Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Menna AlaaElDin in Cairo; Editing by William Mallard)
U.S. Probes Death of Palestinian American Reportedly Beaten by Israeli Settlers
Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, a Palestinian American from Tampa, Florida, was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in Sinjil. The Israeli military acknowledged an investigation is underway and confirmed that “a violent confrontation” broke out following reports of rocks being thrown at Israelis. The incident adds to a growing list of Palestinian Americans killed in the West Bank in recent years.
WAFA, citing the local health ministry, reported that Musallat, in his 20s, died from injuries sustained in a violent settler attack that also left several others wounded. The Israeli military acknowledged an investigation is underway and confirmed that “a violent confrontation” broke out following reports of rocks being thrown at Israelis near Sinjil.
Tensions in the West Bank have escalated significantly since Israel’s war in Gaza began in late 2023. The U.N. and human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in occupied Palestinian territories, calling such actions illegal under international law.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, over 57,000 Palestinians have died amid Israel’s military offensive, which has triggered accusations of genocide and war crimes at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Israel denies these allegations, citing self-defense after the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people.
The incident adds to a growing list of Palestinian Americans killed in the West Bank in recent years, including journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea, and activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. The U.N.’s top court has declared Israel’s occupation and settlements illegal, urging their withdrawal.
The U.S. government has not released further information out of respect for the victim’s family. The situation remains under investigation.
Palestinian American from Florida killed in the West Bank, family says
Sayfollah Kamel Musallet’s relatives and the Palestinian Health Ministry say he was fatally beaten by Israeli settlers. The Israel Defense Forces said it was looking into reports of a death during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the area. He was “known to be just such an honorable and loving and genuine guy,” said his second cousin Fatmah Muhammad in New York. The State Department says it is aware of a U.S. citizen”s death in the West Bank but did not comment on Musallets specifically.“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,’’ his father said.
Musallet was born and grew up in Port Charlotte, Florida, said his father, Kamel Musallet, and was working with his father at an ice cream and dessert shop in Tampa that they had recently opened. He was “known to be just such an honorable and loving and genuine guy,” said his second cousin Fatmah Muhammad in New York.
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Musallet was a U.S. citizen, both his father and second cousin told The Post in phone interviews. The State Department said it was aware of reports of a U.S. citizen’s death in the West Bank but did not comment on Musallet specifically.
Musallet traveled to the West Bank in June to visit family in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, a village in the West Bank northeast of Ramallah, his two relatives said.
“He was raised in Florida. He was a great citizen, a great friend, sibling, son — this is just horrific,” said Muhammad. “He always was full of smiles — just an honest, caring person.”
“He was a beautiful and loving son — a beautiful soul,” said his father, who spoke to The Post from Orlando.
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Musallet was “just starting the prime of his life” and was known as a “kind, hard-working, and deeply-respected young man,” his father said in a statement, noting that his son was nicknamed “Saif.”
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,” he added. “We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice.”
In April, a Palestinian American 14-year-old, Amer Rabee, was shot dead in the West Bank by Israeli forces. Last year, two Palestinian American 17-year-olds, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar and Mohammad Ahmad Alkhdour, were killed in the West Bank in cases involving Israeli forces and settlers.
Kamel Musallet told The Post he thinks that “nobody does anything” about the violence against American citizens in the West Bank. “It’s just another name, another number,” he said.