Washington, DC – The household of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old United States citizen from Florida who was crushed to loss of life by Israeli settlers within the occupied West Financial institution, is asking on Washington to launch its personal probe into the incident and to carry the perpetrators accountable.
Musallet’s household stated in a press release that Israeli settlers surrounded him for 3 hours in the course of the assault on Friday and attacked medics who had been making an attempt to achieve him.
The slain younger man, referred to as Saif, was a “type, hard-working, and deeply-respected younger man, working to construct his desires”, the household stated.
“That is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no household ought to ever must face,” the assertion added.
“We demand the US State Division lead an instantaneous investigation and maintain the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for his or her crimes. We demand justice.”
Washington has beforehand resisted calls to research the killing of US citizens by Israeli forces. As a substitute, US officers say that Israel is able to probing its personal abuses.
However Israeli investigations not often result in felony prices towards settlers or troopers, regardless of their well-documented violations towards Palestinians.
The State Division stated late on Friday that it “has no larger precedence than the security and safety of US residents abroad”.
“We’re conscious of stories of the loss of life of a US citizen within the West Financial institution. When a US citizen dies abroad, we stand prepared to offer consular companies,” a division spokesperson informed Al Jazeera, declining to offer additional particulars, citing the privateness of the sufferer’s household.
Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, whereas U.S. officers stayed silent.
Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting household for the summer time within the West Financial institution when settlers beat him to loss of life whereas he protested unlawful land… pic.twitter.com/W4zG8OFD9b
— ADC Nationwide (@adc) July 12, 2025
Israeli forces have killed at the very least 9 US residents since 2022, together with veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
However not one of the incidents have resulted in felony prices.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) stated the US “should cease treating Palestinian American lives as expendable”.
“Israeli settlers lynched 20-year-old Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, whereas US officers stayed silent,” the advocacy group stated in a press release.
“Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting household for the summer time within the West Financial institution when settlers beat him to loss of life whereas he protested unlawful land seizures.”
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) questioned whether or not Trump will keep true to his pledge to prioritise US pursuits.
“Will he uphold his ‘America First’ promise when it’s a Palestinian-American whose life was taken? Or will he as soon as once more bow his head to Israel, regardless of the fee in blood?” AMP stated in a press release.
However the group careworn that US citizenship shouldn’t be a situation for justice. One other Palestinian was killed in the identical settler assault as Musallet on Saturday.
“And let’s be unequivocally clear: whether or not a Palestinian holds American citizenship or not, each single homicide dedicated by this regime have to be explicitly prohibited, punished, and condemned,” AMP stated.
The US offers billions of {dollars} in navy support to Israel. It additionally protects its ally diplomatically at worldwide boards, usually utilizing its veto power to dam United Nations Safety Council proposals important of Israeli abuses.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) referred to as on supporters on Saturday to contact their lawmakers and urge them to sentence the killing of Musallet.
“This was not an remoted incident. It was a part of a protracted, unpunished sample of violence towards US residents by Israeli troopers and settlers,” the group stated in a press release.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the top of rights group DAWN, stated the US has instruments to pursue accountability within the Musallet case, noting that Washington is pursuing felony prices towards Hamas officers for the killing of US residents in the course of the October 7, 2023 assault in Israel.
“What is de facto lacking [in the current case] is the political will from the US authorities to guard American citizens of Palestinian origin or Individuals protesting Israeli actions within the West Financial institution,” Whitson informed Al Jazeera in a TV interview.
“What it actually does is it units a precedent of encouragement and units a precedent for open season on Individuals simply as there may be open season on Palestinians.”
