A 20-year-old US citizen from Florida, Sayfollah Musallet, was brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank while visiting his family’s farm. His relatives are now calling for the Trump administration to arrest and prosecute those responsible for his killing.
Musallet died trying to protect his family’s farm from invaders, who also killed a 23-year-old Palestinian man. His uncle, Hasem Musallet, described him as “loving” and said he had just opened an ice-cream business with several cousins. The family saw the US government’s lack of response to Sayfollah’s death as indifferent.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding accountability from the Trump administration, saying there should be investigations and arrests if a US citizen was killed in another country or by someone else. However, the state department has declined to comment, citing respect for the family’s privacy.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made an official acknowledgment of Musallet’s death on Monday, promising to investigate the murder and seek accountability. Hasem Musallet broke down in tears during a press conference, remembering his nephew as “just a very rare soul” who would help anyone in need.
The Israeli military claims that a violent confrontation developed after stones were thrown at Israelis, but Sayfollah’s relatives dispute this, saying there were no clashes and describing it as another instance of an American being brutalized by Israeli forces and settlers. Musallet’s death is part of a growing wave of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, with over 1,000 Palestinians killed and 9,000 injured since October 2023.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/sayfollet-musallet-citizen-killed-israeli-settler-west-bank