U.S. demands probe of Palestinian American's killing by Israeli settlers
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday he had asked Israel to 'aggressively investigate' the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, describing it as a 'criminal and terrorist act.'
The comments by Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israeli settlement construction, mark a rare and pointed public intervention by the U.S. following the death of a Palestinian American in the Israeli-occupied territory.
'I have asked (Israel) to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Musallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death,' Huckabee wrote on X, referring to a town north of Ramallah.
Musallet, 20, whose full first name is Sayafollah, was severely beaten in the incident on Friday evening. His family, who are from Florida, say that medics failed to reach him for hours and that he died before reaching the hospital.
Israel's military has said it is probing the incident. It says confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them. It says its forces used non-lethal weapons to disperse the parties.
Reuters has not been able to corroborate either side's account.
Settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank have risen since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023, though violence has long simmered in the territory.
Israeli killings of U.S. 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.
Palestinians have also killed or injured Israeli American dual nationals in the West Bank in recent years. In March 2023, Israeli American Elan Ganeles, then 27, was shot dead in his car on a highway in the West Bank's Jordan Valley.
The United Nations' highest court said last year that 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occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.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 security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.
U.S. President Donald Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
By Jasper Ward
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Rod Nickel and Daniel Wallis)
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