RAMALLAH, West Bank — Saif Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American visiting family in the West Bank, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers on Friday, raising new questions about settler violence and the role of Israeli forces during such attacks.
Musallet, a Florida resident and small business owner, had just told his father he hoped to get engaged during his visit. Days later, he was fatally attacked near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, while trying to reach his family’s farmland.
Witnesses say a group of settlers armed with clubs and rocks ambushed Musallet and other Palestinians following Friday prayers. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed Musallet was one of two men killed in the incident. The second victim, Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Musallet’s younger brother found him unconscious. He was still breathing and needed urgent medical help but no ambulance could reach him. Eyewitnesses and family members said settlers were blocking roads, and the Israeli military fired tear gas to disperse crowds, further delaying rescue efforts.
By the time emergency responders accessed the scene, Musallet had died.
“Saif could have been saved,” said his father, Kamel Musallet. “He was alive when they found him. But nobody could get to him. The IDF stopped the ambulances, and the settlers roamed freely.”
Speaking to press, Kamel held both the attackers and the Israeli army responsible. “The military let it happen. They didn’t stop them. They delayed help. I hold them just as responsible as the settlers,” he said. He also criticized the U.S. government’s silence, demanding accountability for the killing of his American son. “Why is the U.S. not demanding justice? Why are you not preventing settler terrorism?” Kamel asked.
The family has urged Washington to launch a formal investigation. So far, the U.S. consulate has made a condolence call, but no further action has been taken.
After days of growing outrage, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee broke the silence Tuesday, calling the killing a “criminal and terrorist act.” In a statement posted on X, Huckabee said he had asked Israeli authorities to conduct an aggressive investigation.
“There must be accountability,” he wrote. “Saif was just 20 years old.”
Huckabee stopped short of promising a U.S. investigation but called for clarity and punishment. His comments come amid criticism of the Trump administration’s rollback of sanctions targeting Israeli settlers accused of violence, a measure imposed by the previous U.S. government.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed in an initial statement that a “violent confrontation” had taken place after Palestinians threw stones at civilians. However, the statement did not address allegations that settlers beat Musallet or that ambulances were blocked from reaching him.
The Israeli police have since launched a criminal investigation into a separate attack on journalists, whose vehicle was damaged by settlers during a visit to the same area on Sunday. Settlers reportedly followed and ambushed the crew as they attempted to document the aftermath of Friday’s events.
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the United Nations. Human rights groups say violence in Sinjil has intensified, with settlers repeatedly attempting to seize Palestinian land and harassing local residents.
Hafez Abdel Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who witnessed Friday’s assault, said ambulances were held back for hours while settlers continued roaming. “If help came earlier, he’d be alive,” Abdel Jabbar said. “He was breathing when we found him.”
Abdel Jabbar lost his own son to settler violence in January 2024. Reflecting on the loss, he said, “You raise your children for 20 years, then bury them under silence. The whole world watches, and no one says a word.”
The Musallet family continues to call for justice both in Israel and in Washington insisting that American lives must be protected equally, regardless of Palestinian identity.
“We want justice,” Kamel Musallet said. “We want the American government to treat my son the same as any American-Israeli. He was American. He mattered.”
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