Washington, DC – The household of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old United States citizen from Florida who was crushed to demise by Israeli settlers within the occupied West Financial institution, is looking on Washington to launch its personal probe into the incident and to carry the perpetrators accountable.
Musallet’s household stated in an announcement that Israeli settlers surrounded him for 3 hours in the course of the assault on Friday and attacked medics who had been trying to achieve him.
The slain younger man, often called Saif, was a “sort, hard-working, and deeply-respected younger man, working to construct his goals”, 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 hardly ever result in legal costs in opposition to settlers or troopers, regardless of their well-documented violations in opposition to Palestinians.
The State Division stated late on Friday that it “has no greater precedence than the protection and safety of US residents abroad”.
“We’re conscious of reviews of the demise of a US citizen within the West Financial institution. When a US citizen dies abroad, we stand prepared to supply consular providers,” a division spokesperson informed Al Jazeera, declining to supply 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 season within the West Financial institution when settlers beat him to demise whereas he protested unlawful land… pic.twitter.com/W4zG8OFD9b
— ADC Nationwide (@adc) July 12, 2025
Israeli forces have killed not less than 9 US residents since 2022, together with veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
However not one of the incidents have resulted in legal costs.
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 an announcement.
“Sayfollah was born and raised in Florida. He was visiting household for the summer season within the West Financial institution when settlers beat him to demise 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, irrespective of the associated fee in blood?” AMP stated in an announcement.
However the group burdened 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 supplies billions of {dollars} in navy help to Israel. It additionally protects its ally diplomatically at worldwide boards, typically utilizing its veto power to dam United Nations Safety Council proposals crucial 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 an extended, unpunished sample of violence in opposition to US residents by Israeli troopers and settlers,” the group stated in an announcement.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the pinnacle of rights group DAWN, stated the US has instruments to pursue accountability within the Musallet case, noting that Washington is pursuing legal costs in opposition to Hamas officers for the killing of US residents in the course of the October 7, 2023 assault in Israel.
“What is basically lacking [in the current case] is the political will from the US authorities to guard American citizens of Palestinian origin or People 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 People simply as there may be open season on Palestinians.”
