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Dubai Eye
a day ago
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Anger at US grows in West Bank over killing of Palestinian American
Frustration among Palestinians towards the US has intensified following the killing of two young men, including a Palestinian American, by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Mazra'a Ash-Sharqiya. Mourners packed the streets on Sunday as the victims were laid to rest. According to Palestinian health authorities and eyewitnesses, Sayfollah Musallet, 21, was beaten to death, while Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot in the chest during a confrontation on Friday evening. Most of the small town's roughly 3,000 residents share family ties to the US and many hold citizenship, including Musallet, who was killed weeks after flying to visit his mother in Al-Mazr'a Ash-Sharqiya, where he travelled most summers from Tampa, Florida. 'There's no accountability,' said his father, Kamel Musallet, who flew in from the US to bury his son. 'We demand the United States government do something about it... I don't want his death to go in vain.' 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. A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Friday that it was aware of the latest incident but declined to comment further 'out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones'. When pressed on Sunday about whether the US would pursue an investigation, the spokesperson referred questions to the Israeli government, reiterating that Washington 'has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas'. The Israeli military stated that an investigation had been opened. It claimed that settlers were lightly injured after Palestinians threw stones, prompting confrontations. Musallet's family said medics were prevented from reaching him for nearly three hours. His brother eventually carried him to an ambulance, but Musallet died en route to the hospital. Eighteen-year-old Domi, a resident who returned to Al-Mazra'a Ash-Sharqiya from the US four years ago, said fear had gripped the community since the incident. His parents are now considering sending him back to the US for safety. 'If people have sons like this, they're going to want to send them back to America because it's just not safe for them,' he said. Still, he expressed a sense of conflicted loyalty. 'I want to stay near our land, where my family has farmed for generations. But it feels like a betrayal — the US should be doing more to protect us here.' Rights groups report that settler violence in the West Bank has surged since Israel's war on Gaza began in late 2023. While dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent years, the Israeli military has significantly intensified its operations across the West Bank. Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. In January, US President Donald Trump rescinded sanctions previously imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.
DW
a day ago
- Politics
- DW
West Bank: Deadly Israeli settler attack on Palestinians – DW – 07/13/2025
Following two deaths after another settler attack in the West Bank, the victims' families said ambulances were prevented from helping the young Palestinians, one of whom was a US citizen. A school courtyard in al-Mazra'a al-Sharqiya, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has been transformed into a large mourning tent after two young men were killed in what their families describe as the latest attack by Israeli settlers. Twenty-year-old Sayfollah Musallet, a US citizen from Florida, was beaten to death and Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was shot during Friday's attack, their families said. Residents say the settlers blocked efforts to help the dying youths. Razek Hassan al-Shalabi, Mohammad's father, sat among the town's inhabitants and relatives who came to mourn the young men at the school. "In the morning he told me he wanted to get married," he told DW. "He talked about starting a family, and now we bury him." Across the street, at the Musallet home, women gathered to support the family in their grief. Saif, as Sayfollah was nicknamed, had arrived in June from his hometown, Tampa, to spend the summer with relatives in the town, which is roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Ramallah. "He was like a little brother," Diana Halum, a cousin who is acting as the family's spokesperson, told DW. "We traveled together, back and forth from the States to Palestine. He came here to visit his cousins, his friends." "Not in a million years did we think something so tragic would happen," Halum said. "And it's just, it's the way they killed him, too. I mean, he was lynched by aggressive, illegal Israeli settlers, and left there for hours." On Friday, the family released a statement saying medics had tried to reach Musallet for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance. He died before they could make it to the hospital. "This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face," the family said. "We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes." The State Department says it is aware of reports of a death of a US citizen in the West Bank. Officials declined to comment further "out of respect for the privacy of the family" but said the department was ready "to provide consular services." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The youths had gathered with others following Friday's noon prayers to show their presence in the fields where, just weeks ago, settlers attacked residents who had organized a march to protest settler violence and attempts to seize the land. In an initial statement following Friday's attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that "terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli civilians," leading to a "violent confrontation" that included "the vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes and rock hurling." The IDF acknowledged reports that at least one Palestinian had been killed and a number injured and claimed that the incident would be "looked into." The families say the youths' bodies showed signs of torture. In response to an inquiry from DW, the IDF referred to its earlier statement and added that "following the incident, a joint investigation was launched by the Israel Police and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division." It was just the latest violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, such attacks have become "a daily reality," according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs. Between January 2024 and May 2025, OCHA has documented over 2,070 settler attacks, resulting in casualties and property damage in the West Bank. Settlers regularly raid villages or install illegal outposts to harass and threaten Palestinians, often in the presence of Israeli soldiers or police who do not interfere. Israeli rights groups and Palestinians report that settlers have been recruited as reservists. For several hours following the attack, Razek Hassan al-Shalabi said, he had believed that his son Mohammed was in IDF custody. When he discovered that evening that the information was incorrect, local residents searched for Mohammed. According to the family and the Palestinian Health Ministry, they found him severely beaten and shot in the back. Friends of the two young men gathered at the school on Saturday, looking shocked. Iyad, who declined to give his surname, said that his cousin Saif and Mohammed were in the same friendship group and used to hang out together. "They were always the ones that would cheer everyone up, they never brought you down, if you needed them, they were always there," Iyad told DW. A young Palestinian American himself, Iyad said people in the occupied West Bank also believed that Israeli settlers carried out their attacks with a sense of impunity. He said the United States rarely intervened on the behalf of people who were the victims of such attacks or their families. "Sadly this only got attention because Saif has American citizenship. This isn't the first time this happened, multiple US citizens have been killed either by Israeli citizens or Israeli soldiers and I think that there should definitely be a change in it and they [the US administration] should do something about it because honestly ... I am lost for words." Iyad, who is from California, was also visiting for the summer. "It is sad people have to be cautious in their own land, it is sad that every time Palestinians leave their home they are at risk," he said. Three other young Palestinian Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Their cases, which involved Israeli soldiers and settlers, remain unresolved. "It makes you feel hopeless, it makes you sad. Here in the village, we deal with this on a daily basis," Hafeth Abdel Jabbar told DW about the latest killings. His 17-year-old son, Tawfiq, a US citizen from Louisiana, was shot and killed in 2024 near the town and until now, no one was charged for the crime. "The crazy thing is that our government is supporting such a regime with racists and extremists that are supporting these settlers, and it's okay to do that to us, they treat us like we're not human beings. That's what flips your mind," Abdel Jabbar said. While the previous US administration issued sanctions against some radical settlers, these were rescinded by President Donald Trump shortly after taking office. Razek Hassan al-Shalabi said he was not confident that his many questions surrounding Mohammed's death would ever be answered by the Israeli authorities. He was trying to keep himself together for the young men's joint funeral on Sunday. "We weren't just father and son," he said. "We were friends." Overwhelmed by grief, he was unable to finish his thought.
AsiaOne
a day ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Anger turns towards Washington in West Bank town mourning 2 men killed by settlers, World News
AL-MAZRA'A ASH-SHARQIYA, West Bank — Frustration among Palestinians grew towards the United States on Sunday (July 13) as mourners packed the roads to a cemetery in the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Al-Mazr'a Ash-Sharqiya for the burial of two men, one of them a Palestinian American, killed by settlers. Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said Sayfollah Musallet, 21, was beaten to death, and Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot in the chest by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night. Most of the small town's roughly 3,000 residents share family ties to the United States and many hold citizenship, including Musallet, who was killed weeks after flying to visit his mother in Al-Mazr'a Ash-Sharqiya, where he travelled most summers from Tampa, Florida. "There's no accountability," said his father Kamel Musallet, who flew from the United States to bury his son. "We demand the United States government do something about it... I don't want his death to go in vain." 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. A US State Department spokesperson said on Friday it was aware of the latest death, but that the department had no further comment "out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones" of the victim. Many family and community members said they expected more, including that the United States would spearhead an investigation into who was responsible. A US State Department spokesperson on Sunday referred questions on an investigation to the Israeli government and said it "has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas." [[nid:720146]] The Israeli military had earlier said Israel was probing the incident. It said confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them. 'Betrayal' Musallet's family said medics tried to reach him for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance, but he died before reaching the hospital. Local resident Domi, 18, who has lived in Al-Mazr'a Ash-Sharqiya for the last four years after moving back from the United States, said fears had spread in the community since Friday and his parents had discussed sending him to the United States. "If people have sons like this they are going to want to send them back to America because it's just not safe for them," he said. He had mixed feelings about returning, saying he wanted to stay near his family's land, which they had farmed for generations, and that Washington should do more to protect Palestinians in the West Bank. "It's a kind of betrayal," he said. Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian militant 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. Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. US 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. Malik, 18, who used to visit Musallet's ice-cream shop in Tampa and had returned to the West Bank for a few months' vacation, said his friend's death had made him question his sense of belonging. "I was born and raised in America, I only come here two months of a 12-month year, if I die like that nobody's going to be charged for my murder," he said, standing in the cemetery shortly before his friend was buried. "No one's going to be held accountable." [[nid:720147]]
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Family of American citizen killed by Israeli settlers demands US probe
Agencies 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.
DW
2 days ago
- DW
West Bank: Deadly settler attack against Palestinians – DW – 07/13/2025
Following two deaths after another settler attack in the West Bank, the victims' families said ambulances were prevented from helping the young Palestinians — one of whom was a US citizen who died at the scene. A school courtyard in al-Mazra'a al-Sharqiya, a village near the town of Sinjil in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has been transformed into a large mourning tent after two young men were killed in what their families describe as the latest attack by Israeli settlers. Twenty-year-old Sayfollah Musallet, a US citizen from Florida, was beaten to death and Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was shot during Friday's attack, their families said. Residents say the settlers blocked efforts to help the dying youths. Razek Hassan al-Shalabi, Mohammad's father, sat among the villagers and relatives who came to mourn the young men at the school. "In the morning he told me he wanted to get married," he told DW. "He talked about starting a family, and now we bury him." Across the street, at the Musallet home, women gathered to support the family in their grief. Saif, as Sayfollah was nicknamed, had arrived in June from his hometown, Tampa, to spend the summer with relatives in the village, which is roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Ramallah. "He was like a little brother," Diana Halun, a cousin who is acting as the family's spokesperson, told DW. "We traveled together, back and forth from the States to Palestine. He came here to visit his cousins, his friends." "Not in a million years did we think something so tragic would happen," Halun said. "And it's just, it's the way they killed him, too. I mean, he was lynched by aggressive, illegal Israeli settlers, and left there for hours." On Friday, the family released a statement saying medics had tried to reach Musallet for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance. He died before they could make it to the hospital. "This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face," the family said. "We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes." The State Department says it is aware of reports of a death of a US citizen in the West Bank. Officials declined to comment further "out of respect for the privacy of the family" but said the department was ready "to provide consular services." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The youths had gathered with others following Friday's noon prayers to show their presence in the fields where, just weeks ago, settlers attacked residents who had organized a march to protest settler violence and attempts to seize the land. In an initial statement following Friday's attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that "terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli civilians," leading to a "violent confrontation" that included "the vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes and rock hurling." The IDF acknowledged reports that at least one Palestinian had been killed and a number injured and claimed that the incident would be "looked into." The families say the youths' bodies showed signs of torture. In response to an inquiry from DW, the IDF referred to its earlier statement and added that "following the incident, a joint investigation was launched by the Israel Police and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division." It was just the latest violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, such attacks have become "a daily reality," according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs. Between January 2024 and May 2025, OCHA has documented over 2,070 settler attacks, resulting in casualties and property damage in the West Bank. Settlers regularly raid villages or install illegal outposts to harass and threaten Palestinians, often in the presence of Israeli soldiers or police who do not interfere. Israeli rights groups and Palestinians report that settlers have been recruited as reservists. For several hours following the attack, Razek Hassan al-Shalabi said, he had believed that his son Mohammed was in IDF custody. When he discovered that evening that the information was incorrect, villagers searched for Mohammed. According to the family and the Palestinian Health Ministry, they found him severely beaten and shot in the back. Friends of the two young men gathered at the school on Saturday, looking shocked. Iyad, who declined to give his surname, said that his cousin Saif and Mohammed were in the same friendship group and used to hang out together. "They were always the ones that would cheer everyone up, they never brought you down, if you needed them, they were always there," Iyad told DW. A young Palestinian American himself, Iyad said people in the occupied West Bank also believed that Israeli settlers carried out their attacks with a sense of impunity. He said the United States rarely intervened on the behalf of people who were the victims of such attacks or their families. "Sadly this only got attention because Saif has American citizenship. This isn't the first time this happened, multiple US citizens have been killed either by Israeli citizens or Israeli soldiers and I think that there should definitely be a change in it and they [the US administration] should do something about it because honestly... I am lost for words." Iyad, who is from California, was also visiting for the summer. "It is sad people have to be cautious in their own land, it is sad that every time Palestinians leave their home they are at risk," he said. Three other young Palestinian Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Their cases, which involved Israeli soldiers and settlers, remain unresolved. "It makes you feel hopeless, it makes you sad. Here in the village, we deal with this on a daily basis," Hafeth Abdel Jabbar told DW about the latest killings. His 17-year-old son, Tawfiq, a US citizen from Louisiana, was shot and killed in 2024 near the village and until now, no one was charged for the crime. "The crazy thing is that our government is supporting such a regime with racists and extremists that are supporting these settlers, and it's okay to do that to us, they treat us like we're not human beings. That's what flips your mind," Abdel Jabbar said. While the previous US administration issued sanctions against some radical settlers, these were rescinded by President Donald Trump shortly after taking office. Razek Hassan al-Shalabi said he was not confident that his many questions surrounding Mohammed's death would ever be answered by the Israeli authorities. He was trying to keep himself together for the young men's joint funeral on Sunday. "We weren't just father and son," he said. "We were friends." Overwhelmed by grief, he was unable to finish his thought.
