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Who was Saifullah Musallet? 20-year-old US citizen beaten to death in West Bank
A Palestinian American man was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and another man was shot and killed, according to a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry, the incident unfolded during the night. Saifullah Musallet Musallet traveled to the West Bank last month to spend time with relatives. (@maitelsadany/ X)
Saifullah Musallet Musallet traveled to the West Bank last month to spend time with relatives, according to The Times Of Israel.
Who was Saifullah Musallet ?
20-year-old US citizen, Saifullah Musallet who was also known as Saif was beaten to death during night in Sinjil, a town north of Ramallah, according to ministry. Another man, 23-year-old Hussein Al-Shalabi, was also shot in the chest.
Musallet's family based in Tampa, Florida said that the medics were not able to reach Musallet for three hours. Eventually, his brother carried him to an ambulance, but he died before they made it to the hospital.
The family said in a statement, 'This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face. We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes."
A spokesperson for the US State Department said Friday that they were aware of the incident. But they added there wouldn't be any more comment 'out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones' of the reported victim.
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Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli settlers
The Israeli military said it is looking into what happened in Sinjil. Officials said the fight began when Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli settlers, hurting some of them slightly. Military forces were sent to the scene and used non-lethal means to break up the crowds.
Rights groups say violence by settlers in the West Bank has increased since Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza started in late 2023. Meanwhile, dozens of Israelis have also died in street attacks by Palestinians in recent years, and Israeli forces have stepped up their raids across the West Bank.
In January, US President Donald Trump removed sanctions that the earlier Biden administration had placed on some Israeli settlers and groups accused of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Reuters report.
US citizens killed in the West Bank
Over the past few years, other US citizens have been killed in the West Bank too — including Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea, and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.
Last year the UN's highest court stated that Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands such as the West Bank, as well as settlements located there, was illegal and should soon come to an end. This was not an agreement by Israel, which continues to assert its deep historical and biblical ties to the land which it took during the 1967 war in the Middle East.
West Bank is one of the regions Palestinians would like to have as part of their own independent country.
