US aware of report American killed in West Bank settler attack
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
US citizen killed in West Bank settler attack
Sayafollah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was severely beaten in the incident. Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot in the chest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in Sinjil, north of Ramallah. The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent state.”This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,” his family said in a statement, calling on the U.S. State Department to lead an investigation. The United Nations’ highest court said last year Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -A Palestinian American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and a second man was shot dead, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement, in a confrontation overnight.
U.S. citizen Sayafollah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was severely beaten in the incident on Friday evening in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said. Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23 was shot in the chest.
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Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, said in a statement that medics tried to reach him for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance, but that he died before reaching the hospital.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face. We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes,” the family statement said.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Friday it was aware of the incident, but that 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 confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
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The military said forces were dispatched to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowds.
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023, according to rights groups.
Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.
U.S. President Donald Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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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, including the West Bank, and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent state.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Menna Alaa ElDin in Cairo and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by William Mallard and Sharon Singleton)
US aware of report American killed in West Bank settler attack
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel’s war against Palestinian rebel group Hamas. Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers. A second person was also found dead in the area, a Palestinian medical source said. The Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis.
WASHINGTON : The US state department said on Friday it was aware of the reported death of a US 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, in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers on Friday evening in an attack that injured 10 others in a town north of Ramallah.
A second person was also found dead in the area, a Palestinian medical source said. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian health ministry.
Relatives of Musallat, who was from Tampa, Florida, were 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 US citizen in the West Bank,” a state department spokesman 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 confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
The military said forces were dispatched to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowds.
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel’s war against Palestinian rebel group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023, according to rights groups.
Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.
Israeli killings of US 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 UN’s highest court said last year Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent state.
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 citizen to death in West Bank
Settlers attacked and killed Sayfollah Musallet in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Another Palestinian, identified by the Health Ministry as Mohammed Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers during the attack. Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges.
Relatives of Musallet, 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 US citizen in the West Bank,” Reuters reported a State Department spokesperson as saying. The official declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
Musallet, also known as Saif al-Din Musalat, had travelled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine, his cousin Fatmah Muhammad said in a social media post.
Another Palestinian, identified by the Health Ministry as Mohammed Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers during the attack.
Rights advocates have documented repeated instances where Israeli settlers in the West Bank ransack Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles in attacks sometimes described as pogroms.
The Israeli military often protects the settlers during their rampages and has shot Palestinians who show any resistance.
The United Nations and other prominent human rights organisations consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violations of international law, as part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians.
While some Western countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers, attacks have increased since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
When President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, his administration revoked sanctions on settlers imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges.
The US provides billions of dollars to Israel every year. Advocates have accused successive US administrations of failing to protect American citizens from Israeli violence in the Middle East.
The Palestinian group Hamas has also condemned the murder of Musallet, describing it as “barbaric”, and called on Palestinians across the West Bank to rise up to “confront the settlers and their terrorist attacks”.
Palestinian American from Florida killed in the West Bank, family says
Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, 20, was visiting family in the occupied West Bank. He was beaten to death during a settler attack on the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. A second man, Razek Hussein al-Shalabi, 23, was also shot to death, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The State Department said it was aware of reports of a U.S. citizen’s death in the West Bank, but did not comment onMusallet specifically. Three other Palestinian Americans, all teenagers, have been killed in theWest Bank since the Israel-Gaza war began last year.. The Biden administration issued sanctions against some radical settlers, but President Donald Trump rescinded them shortly after taking office. “They can stop this in five minutes if he [Trump] wants to,’’ said one of the victims’ grandmother, Dalal Zaben, 65, referring to Israeli military support for Israel.
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“We are aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation, and they are being looked into,” the IDF said.
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A second man, Razek Hussein al-Shalabi, 23, was also shot to death during the attack, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which said he was left bleeding for hours.
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.
Musallet was a U.S. citizen, his father told The Post in a phone interview. 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.
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“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,” his father said. “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,” he added, noting that his son was nicknamed “Saif.”
Three other Palestinian Americans, all teenagers, have been killed in the West Bank since the Israel-Gaza war began. Their cases remain unresolved, and in two of the cases the families have faced harassment from Israeli authorities, they told The Post last year.
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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.
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“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.
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.
Settler violence in the West Bank, often in the form of armed settlers carrying out violent raids against Palestinian villages, has spiked since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Settlers act often with impunity in the presence of Israeli soldiers or directly with their help, according to rights groups and Palestinians.
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The Biden administration issued sanctions against some radical settlers, but President Donald Trump rescinded them shortly after taking office.
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In April, a Palestinian American 14-year-old, Amer Rabee, was shot dead by Israeli forces in the nearby West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, where most of the population also holds U.S. citizenship. 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.
“Who is killing us and who is killing our children is the United States with their arms,” said Musallet’s grandmother, Dalal Zaben, 65, referring to U.S. military support for Israel. She grew emotional as she spoke Saturday in Sinjil. “They can stop this in five minutes if he [Trump] wants to.”