A Palestinian-American man was reportedly killed during a violent confrontation between a violent mob of Israeli settlers and Palestinians near the West Bank town of Sinjil on Friday, the latest flashpoint in an increasingly volatile territory where settler attacks have surged in the wake of last year’s war in Gaza.
Sayfollah Musallet, 20, who was visiting family in the West Bank for the summer, died after being beaten by a group of settlers, according to Palestinian health officials and relatives.
His family said he had joined a protest against the construction of a new settler outpost on land near Sinjil, a small village about 10 miles northeast of Ramallah.
“We are devastated that our beloved Sayfollah Musallet — nicknamed Saif — was brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was protecting his family’s land,” the family said in a statement. “We demand justice.”
Another Palestinian man, Mohammad al-Shalabi, also in his early 20s, was found dead hours later from a gunshot wound to the chest, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident and acknowledged reports of a fatality and injuries during what it described as a confrontation that began with Palestinians throwing stones.
The military claimed the violence escalated into “vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes, and rock hurling.”
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem confirmed Musallet’s death, identifying him as an American citizen.
A spokesperson said the embassy had requested more information from Israeli authorities and reiterated that “the U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.”
Musallet was born in Port Charlotte, Florida, and helped run his family’s ice cream business, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The organization said he had traveled to the West Bank to visit relatives and participate in peaceful protests against expanding settler outposts.
The killing comes amid a broader rise in violence across the West Bank. On Thursday, a 22-year-old Israeli man was fatally shot by Palestinian militants outside a supermarket.
Clashes between settlers and Palestinians have intensified in recent months, with human rights groups documenting dozens of attacks on Palestinian villages and homes.
Since the Hamas-led assault on Israel in October 2023, armed settler incursions into Palestinian areas have become more frequent, often carried out with little interference.
Though Israeli authorities have condemned some attacks, few settlers have been prosecuted. Tensions have occasionally spilled over into confrontations between settlers and Israeli troops.
At least three other Palestinian-Americans have been killed in the West Bank since the Gaza conflict began, including a 14-year-old boy, Amer Rabee of New Jersey, who was shot by Israeli forces in April. The military said at the time that Rabee and others had thrown rocks at civilians.
With over half a million settlers now living alongside three million Palestinians in the West Bank, the territory remains a focal point of the deepening unrest — and for families like the Musallets, a site of mounting grief and injustice.
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