{"id":156820,"date":"2025-07-13T13:13:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T13:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/american-beaten-to-death-by-israeli-settlers-in-the-west-bank-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T13:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T13:13:55","slug":"american-beaten-to-death-by-israeli-settlers-in-the-west-bank-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/american-beaten-to-death-by-israeli-settlers-in-the-west-bank-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"American beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A 20-year-old American from Florida was beaten to death by Israeli settlers<\/a> on Friday while visiting relatives in the occupied West Bank, according to his family and the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sayfollah Musallet, known as Saif, was \u201cbrutally beaten to death\u201d in the town of al-Mazra\u2019a ash-Sharqiya<\/a>, north of Ramallah, the family said in a statement on social media and confirmed to NBC News. According to the family, a group of settlers blocked an ambulance from reaching Musallet for about three hours.
After the settlers cleared, Musallet\u2019s brother was able to reach him and carry him to the ambulance, according to the statement. However, \u201cSaif died before reaching the hospital.\u201d
A second man, Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was also killed in the same incident, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in developments built in Palestinian territories that are widely considered illegal by the international community<\/a>. Since October 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza, violence perpetrated by settlers in the West Bank has surged, often aided or abetted by Israeli security forces.
Settler attacks include raids on villages, arson targeting homes and farmland, and physical assaults on residents that have regularly turned deadly.
It is currently unclear why the confrontation that killed Musallet and al-Shalabi began.
In response to a request for comment from NBC News, a State Department spokesperson said it was \u201caware of reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank,\u201d adding the department had no further comment \u201cout of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones\u201d of the reported victim.
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it was \u201caware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation, and they are being looked into by the ISA and Israel Police.
Israel Police and Border Police forces were deployed to the scene “following reports of a physical confrontation between civilians,” police told NBC News.
“Several individuals from both sides were detained at the scene on suspicion of involvement in acts of violence,” it said. “A joint investigation has since been opened by the Israel Police and the IDF Military Police.”
Saif\u2019s cousin Fatmah Muhammed told NBC News on Saturday that Musallet worked in an ice cream shop run by his father in Tampa, Florida. He traveled to the West Bank in June to visit his mother, brother and sister. Musallet\u2019s father was en route to the West Bank from Florida for his funeral, to be held on Sunday.
\u201cThis news has been devastating for the entire family,\u201d Muhammed said.
Nizar Milbes, a close family friend currently visiting the West Bank from California, told NBC News that many residents <\/strong>of al-Mazra\u2019a ash-Sharqiya are Americans.
The town is known for its olive trees and rolling hills, where many modern Palestinian homes are built, including some of the West Bank\u2019s more opulent houses. Families gathered to barbecue and relax, many of them traveling from the U.S. for vacation, but Milbes said growing settler violence has transformed the area.
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing left over here for people to enjoy, the settlers have taken everything,\u201d he told NBC News. \u201cPeople can\u2019t even go there anymore. The settlers have burned the vacation homes, they\u2019ve encroached and put their stuff there.\u201d
In March, a United Nations report<\/a> warned that settler violence had \u201cincreased in a climate of continuing impunity.\u201d
Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, said settlers rarely face legal consequences for violence perpetrated against Palestinians. Between 2005 and 2023, more than 93% of all investigations were closed without an indictment and only 3% of investigations led to a conviction, according to a report<\/a> by the organization.
\u201cThe low conviction rate sends the message that the law enforcement system, in its entirety, does not consider settler violence to be a serious issue, contributing to the perpetrators\u2019 sense of immunity,\u201d <\/strong>the report said.
Since October 2023, 961 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to a database maintained by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a sharp rise from previous years.
CAIR-Florida, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nationwide Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned Israeli settlers, \u201cbacked and enabled by the Israeli government,\u201d for Musallet\u2019s death, and called on President Donald Trump to \u201cput America first.\u201d
\u201cThis murder is only the latest killing of an American citizen by illegal Israeli settlers or soldiers,\u201d the statement said. \u201cEvery 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.\u201d
In April, 14-year-old American Amer Rabee<\/a> was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. His family said he was picking almonds, the IDF said he was throwing rocks. In September 2024, Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi<\/a>, 26, was shot dead by an Israeli soldier during a demonstration against West Bank settlements.
American citizens Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour<\/a> and Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar<\/a>, both 17, were killed by Israeli fire in separate incidents in February and January 2024.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.\u00a0
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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