Sayfollah “Saif” Musallet was found dead after being attacked by Israeli settlers near Ramallah while visiting relatives. The State Department has acknowledged their awareness and are reviewing his case.
Saif Musallet, raised in Port Charlotte, Florida and now living in Tampa with his father at their dessert shop, had traveled to al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya in June to visit family, as described as an honorable and loving individual by both The Washington Post and Wikipedia. Unfortunately his life was cut tragically short before its proper conclusion could occur.
On July 11, his relatives and the Palestinian Health Ministry reported he was attacked and fatally beaten during a violent confrontation involving settlers. WAFA news agency reported ten injuries; another Palestinian, Mohammed Shalabi died during this incident (Zeteo +3 Reuters +3 The Washington Post).
U.S. Response and Ongoing Investigation
The U.S. State Department confirmed their knowledge of Musallet’s death while monitoring reports about U.S. citizens killed in West Bank but offered no specifics; Tasnim News, Reuters and The Washington Post each have reported Musallet as being killed there, but offered no details as yet.
Israeli military authorities have announced they are currently conducting an investigation of this incident, alleging it occurred due to rock-throwing by Palestinians and using non-lethal force as part of non-lethal crowd dispersion measures; according to Yahoo +3
Reuters +3 and Tasnim News = =3.
Musallet Family Demands Justice
Musallet’s father called her death an “unimaginable nightmare.” In response, Musallet’s family has requested that the U.S. State Department conduct “an immediate investigation and hold Israeli settlers… accountable for their crimes… we demand justice”
Al Jazeera +3 The Washington Post +3 and Yahoo reported.
Advocates point out that Musallet is at least the seventh American killed since October 2023 due to rising settler violence – according to CBS News, Zeteo, and Reuters – who all acknowledge her death.
Pattern of Violence and Policy Concerns Human rights organizations have noted an alarming increase in settler attacks over recent years–more than 2,000 since January 2024 alone–that has raised serious concerns of unchecked aggression. Musallet’s death follows in the footsteps of earlier cases involving Palestinian Americans killed by Israeli forces:
Amer Rabee, 14 years old at the time, was killed in Turmus Ayya on April 15, according to reports by Reuters, The Washington Post, Zeteo and Zeteo.
Mohammad Khdour, 17, was shot near Biddu and Wikipedia (www.vox.com, Wikipedia +3) on February 10th while driving near.
Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, 17, who died January on Highway 60 was also identified by Wikipedia as having died as of January 24. For further details, refer to Wikipedia’s page here for Abdel Jabbar’s death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wikipedia/talk/830617.02544654.
U.S. authorities have yet to open independent criminal inquiries, leading many critics of a double standard when compared with actions taken against terrorist groups such as Hamas or ISIL (Hope not Help), to see an apparent double standard when considering actions taken against such terrorist organizations as Hamas or Islamic Jihad, whilst they initiate independent criminal inquiries of terrorist organizations like ISIL/Hamas. (Sources: Guardian.com +2|AP News +2 | Wikipedia+2) despite these incidents occurring within U.S. territory despite these incidents U.S authorities have not initiated independent criminal investigations, leading some critics to make statements concerning double standards when dealing with groups like Hamas/Hideath). This has drawn some criticism as U.S. authorities have failed to initiate independent criminal inquiries of their own against terrorist groups such as Hamas/Hamas as opposed to actions taken against similar terrorist groups like Hamas/Hizballah/Hizballah/HAMAS etc /Wiki +2/ Whilst these terrorist organizations/Hamas are actions taken against Hamas/AP News +2/ Wwikipedia +2/ WAR +2.
Advocate Groups Push Congress and Federal Action
Advocacy groups such as the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and human rights organizations are calling on Washington to take swift and decisive action in response to recent killings of Americans by terrorists, without punishment from government bodies, according to CAIR. According to their own admission, each killing went unpunished by American government without accountability being given by authorities (Tasnim News/Yahoo News). CAIR noted this fact when demanding accountability through accountability measures for American government killings of American citizens by radical Islamic terrorist groups that went unpunished from American Government that demanded accountability whilst human rights organizations called for accountability (Tasnim News/Yahoo News/Yahoo +1 for instance).
U.S. lawmakers recalling past events like Shireen Abu Akleh’s case and those of other Palestinian Americans have also demanded federal investigations of Shireen Abu Akleh and her fellow Palestinian Americans, calling for federal investigations through CBS News, The Guardian, Vox.com etc.
Broader Implications
This incident highlights growing concern over the safety of U.S. citizens living in the occupied territories. There have been calls to extend Leahy Law–designed to halt military aid to foreign units involved in human rights abuses–to Israeli forces; critics charge that ongoing failure to investigate undermines credibility and sends a message of impunity from Washington, as reported on vox.com.
What Comes Next
The family awaits confirmation from the U.S. government of their intention to conduct an independent probe, potentially including Department of Justice or FBI involvement, rather than solely relying on Israeli military inquiries for investigative efforts. Congress or public outrage could drive policy change as well.
As Musallet’s case has gained international attention, several important questions remain unanswered: Will the U.S. assert legal accountability, ensure safety for its citizens abroad and see Musallet’s tragic death lead to any meaningful progress toward justice?