The American ambassador in Israel, Mike Huckabee, called on the Israeli authorities on Tuesday for killing Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian American who was reportedly beaten by a gang of extremist settlers in the west board village Sinjil on Friday.
“We have asked Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who visited family in Sinjil when he was beaten to the West Bank,” Huckabee wrote on X. “There must be responsibility for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was only 20 years old.”
According to the family, Musallet visited the West Bank from Tampa, Florida, to make contact with family members again and to visit a family business.
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Sayfollah Musallet was killed on Sunday in a village of Westelijke Jordoever. The Associated Press reported that Palestinian health authorities said he was killed in an attack by Israeli settlers. (Musallet family via WTVT)
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever be confronted with,” the family said in a statement. “We demand that the US Department of Foreign Affairs will lead an immediate investigation and the Israeli settlers who killed SAIF described for their crimes.”
Israeli military officers said the confrontation began when Palestinians threw stones at settlers, causing two slightly injured. IDF troops were used in the area and used non-dead crowd control methods, the army said.
Until now, no Israeli suspects have been arrested in connection with the murders. Two Israeli minors who held on Friday evening for suspected involvement in public disorders were later released to arrest arrest. A reserve soldier who was interviewed by the military police during the shooting during the incident was also released.
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Mourning people pray during the funeral of Sayfollah Musallet and Mohammed Al-Shalabi in the West Bank Dorp Al-Mazraa A-Sharqiya, Sunday 13 July 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Musallet was fatal during an attack by settlers in the area. Another man, the 23-year-old Mohammed Al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest and also killed during the same incident.
Sources in the Israeli police told Haaretz -newspaper that the lack of an autopsy and the fact that the bodies have not been transferred to the Israeli authorities can make the investigation more difficult.
Mourning people wear the bodies of Sayfollah Musallet and Mohammed Al-Shalabi in Al-Mazraa A-Sharqiya on Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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A military court also released Abdullah Hamida, a Palestinian resident who was arrested during the attack of the settlers, who criticized the behavior of the police point. During the hearing, the police representative admitted that he did not know that all Palestinians had been killed, and wrongly claimed that the only injured settlers were.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the awareness of the incident, but refused further comments, reports Reuters, with reference to “respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones.”
