Beaten to death: 20-year-old US national killed in West Bank by Israeli settlers

Israeli settlers killed a 20-year-old Safayollah “Saif” Musallet a Palestinian-American from Florida in the West Bank on Friday. Muslat had travelled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine. According to the family member of the victim, he was “beaten to death” by Israeli settlers in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. A second Palestinian, 23-year-old Hussein Al-Shalabi, was also fatally shot during the attack.

The US state department spokesperson said that, “We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank,”. But refrained from making any further comments. The victim's family is demanding an immediate US investigation into the settler's crime.

“We are devastated that our beloved Sayfollah Musallet (nicknamed Saif) was brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was protecting his family’s land from settlers who were attempting to steal it,” said the family in a statement.

The IDF have responded that the violence was initiated by the Palestinians, who allegedly threw rocks, injuring the settlers. The Israeli forces have reportedly used non-lethal force to disperse the crowd and claim that they are investigating the incident.

The UN has previously deemed Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. These recent incidents mark a spike in the violence since the 2023 Hamas-Israel war. US citizens have been killed by settlers before also. Earlier in April a a 14-year-old boy was shot dead by the Israeli military. Israel is rapidly expanding its settler footprint, mostly violently. Settler violence includes ransacking Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles. The Israeli military allegedly protects the settlers during the rampage.