"If President Trump will not even put America first when Israel murders American citizens, then this is truly an Israel First administration," said one U.S. group.
Sayfollah Musallat, a 23-year-old U.S.-Palestinian citizen, "
died after being severely beaten all over his body" by Israeli settlers
in the West Bank, according to the Ministry of Health.
(Photo: Courtesy of family)
Jessica Corbett
Jul 11, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health and cousins of Sayfollah Musallat—also known as Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat—said Friday that Israeli settlers beat the dual U.S.-Palestinian citizen to death while he was visiting family in the illegally occupied West Bank.
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."
(Photo: Courtesy of family)
Jessica Corbett
Jul 11, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health and cousins of Sayfollah Musallat—also known as Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat—said Friday that Israeli settlers beat the dual U.S.-Palestinian citizen to death while he was visiting family in the illegally occupied West Bank.
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 report American killed in West Bank settler attack
Last updated: July 12, 2025 |
Masked Israeli settlers hurl rocks at Palestinians from hilltop in Sinjil, occupied West Bank. Agence France-Presse
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 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 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 the Palestinian 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 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.
Reuters
WASHINGTON SILENCE DEAFENING
Last updated: July 12, 2025 |
Masked Israeli settlers hurl rocks at Palestinians from hilltop in Sinjil, occupied West Bank. Agence France-Presse
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 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 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 the Palestinian 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 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.
Reuters
Illegal Israeli settlers kill 2 Palestinians, set up new outpost in occupied West Bank
Illegal settlers beat young man to death, erect tent on private land near Hebron
Aysar Alais and Tarek Chouiref
Illegal settlers beat young man to death, erect tent on private land near Hebron
Aysar Alais and Tarek Chouiref
|12.07.2025
AA/TRT
RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL
Israeli illegal settlers killed two Palestinians Friday in northern Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and set up a tent on top of a hill in the town of Sa’ir near Hebron in preparation for a new settlement outpost.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Muslat, 23, died after being brutally beaten by illegal settlers in the town of Sinjil.
Hours later, the ministry said Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was killed after being shot by illegal settlers in the town.
It said that "the medical report confirmed his death as a result of a live bullet wound to the chest, which penetrated the back, and that he was left to bleed for hours."
In Sa’ir, in northern Hebron, illegal settlers erected a tent on Jabal al-Hadib hill in what locals said is a step toward establishing a new outpost, according to Bassam Al-Qawasmeh, one of the area landowners.
Al-Qawasmeh said settlers previously fenced off hundreds of dunums on the hill and prevented owners from entering, under the protection of the Israeli army.
He added that “everything happening is with the backing and incitement of the Israeli government,” warning that settlers “try to seize a small area first, then expand gradually to build a larger settlement and confiscate thousands of dunums.”
He stressed that “Palestinians will not allow this and will defend their land at any cost.”
The move comes days after illegal settlers established another new outpost on Jabal al-Jumjuma in Halhul, north of Hebron, where mobile rooms were placed and raised an Israeli flag.
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the number of illegal settlers in the West Bank reached around 770,000 by the end of 2024, spread across 180 settlements and 256 outposts, including 138 designated as agricultural or grazing outposts.
The Commission also recorded 2,153 settler attacks in the first half of the year alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, at least 998 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL
Israeli illegal settlers killed two Palestinians Friday in northern Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and set up a tent on top of a hill in the town of Sa’ir near Hebron in preparation for a new settlement outpost.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Muslat, 23, died after being brutally beaten by illegal settlers in the town of Sinjil.
Hours later, the ministry said Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was killed after being shot by illegal settlers in the town.
It said that "the medical report confirmed his death as a result of a live bullet wound to the chest, which penetrated the back, and that he was left to bleed for hours."
In Sa’ir, in northern Hebron, illegal settlers erected a tent on Jabal al-Hadib hill in what locals said is a step toward establishing a new outpost, according to Bassam Al-Qawasmeh, one of the area landowners.
Al-Qawasmeh said settlers previously fenced off hundreds of dunums on the hill and prevented owners from entering, under the protection of the Israeli army.
He added that “everything happening is with the backing and incitement of the Israeli government,” warning that settlers “try to seize a small area first, then expand gradually to build a larger settlement and confiscate thousands of dunums.”
He stressed that “Palestinians will not allow this and will defend their land at any cost.”
The move comes days after illegal settlers established another new outpost on Jabal al-Jumjuma in Halhul, north of Hebron, where mobile rooms were placed and raised an Israeli flag.
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the number of illegal settlers in the West Bank reached around 770,000 by the end of 2024, spread across 180 settlements and 256 outposts, including 138 designated as agricultural or grazing outposts.
The Commission also recorded 2,153 settler attacks in the first half of the year alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, at least 998 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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