Family of American citizen killed by Israeli settlers demands US probe
Washington
The family of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old United States citizen from Florida who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, is calling on Washington to launch its own probe into the incident and to hold the perpetrators accountable, Al Jazeera reported
Musallet's family said in a statement that Israeli settlers surrounded him for three hours during the assault on Friday and attacked medics who were attempting to reach him.
The slain young man, known as Saif, was a 'kind, hard-working, and deeply-respected young man, working to build his dreams', the family said.
'This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face,' the statement added.
'We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice.'
Washington has previously resisted calls to investigate the killing of US citizens by Israeli forces. Instead, US officials say that Israel is capable of probing its own abuses.
But Israeli investigations rarely lead to criminal charges against settlers or soldiers, despite their well-documented violations against Palestinians.
The State Department said late on Friday that it 'has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas'.
'We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank. When a US citizen dies overseas, we stand ready to provide consular services,' a department spokesperson told Al Jazeera, declining to provide further details, citing the privacy of the victim's family.
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 American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said the US 'must stop treating Palestinian American lives as expendable'.
'Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, while US officials stayed silent,' the advocacy group said in a statement.
'Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting family for the summer in the West Bank when settlers beat him to death while he protested illegal land
seizures.'
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) questioned whether Trump will stay true to his pledge to prioritise US interests. 'Will he uphold his 'America First' promise when it's a Palestinian-American whose life was taken? Or will he once again bow his head to Israel, no matter the cost in blood?' AMP said in a statement.
But the group stressed that US citizenship should not be a condition for justice. Another Palestinian was killed in the same settler attack as Musallet on Saturday.
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