Sayfollah Musallet. Photo courtesy of Musallet’s family.
Israeli settlers brutalized an American, beating him unconscious and blocking an ambulance from reaching him, according to the victim’s family. The young Palestinian-American was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at a hospital.
Sayfollah Musallet, who was in his 20s, was visiting his family in the Palestinian town of Al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya. Two of his cousins, Fatmah Muhammad and another, granted anonymity due to safety concerns, say he had arrived in June. Born in Florida, Musallat grew up in the town of Port Charlotte.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health later said another young Palestinian man, Muhammad Rizq Hussein al-Shalabi, was killed in the same attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Sinjil. Al-Shalabi was shot and left bleeding for hours, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli military is reportedly investigating the incident.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The State Department said it was aware of reports of “the death of a US citizen in the West Bank” and that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas.” It, however, declined further, citing “respect for the privacy of the family.”
Muhammad, who is not in Palestine but has been in touch with her family since the attack, said that when the settlers approached, Musallat and others reached out for help, but the settlers would not let anyone pass. Even when the ambulance came, the settlers allegedly did not let it go through for two hours. It remains unclear what specific injuries led to Musallat’s death.
Muhammad described Musallat as “one of those kids that everyone loves” with a “beautiful heart,” a “sweet, gentle kid, very genuine,” everyone attests as funny and bright.
In Florida, he helped run a family ice cream shop, a place where his personality shone through, his family members said.
Muhammad and the other family source said that the entire Palestinian town where the family is from is devastated.
“There’s no justice there. You can’t call the police. You can’t call the Israeli government. The murderers just get to walk away,” Muhammad said.
International and local human rights groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm over rising Israeli settler violence across the occupied West Bank. The UN has documented more than 2,000 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property since January 2024. This year, Israeli settlers have injured at least 350 Palestinians. In the first week of July alone, there were at least 27 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both, according to the UN humanitarian office (OHCA).
According to Muhammad, other family members have also been recently attacked by Israeli settlers.
Just on Thursday, the family had been preparing to approach US media outlets in the face of increasingly severe settler violence. The family’s appeal described settler attempts to establish illegal outposts on private farmland, and settlers attacking Palestinians and their property.
“We kindly request your support in putting an end to these assaults by the settlers in the area. If possible, we would be honored to receive a visit from your esteemed office for journalists to observe the situation on the ground,” the appeal read.
Musallat is at least the seventh American killed in the West Bank, Gaza, or Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, including six killed by Israeli forces. Earlier this week, Zeteo asked several Republican senators if they knew how many Americans had been killed by Israel in the last 21 months. None of them could answer.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.
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