Israeli settlers have beaten to death a United States(US) citizen in his early 20s in the occupied West Bank, the victim’s family members and rights groups have said. The victim, identified as Seif al-Din Muslat, was attacked and killed in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Muslat had traveled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine, his cousin Fatmah Muhammad said in a social media post.
The US State Department has confirmed awareness of the incident, with a spokesperson saying, “We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank.” However, the department declined to comment further, citing respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones of the reported victim.
This incident has sparked widespread condemnation, with rights advocates calling on the US government to ensure accountability for Muslat’s death. “Every other murder of an American citizen has gone unpunished by the American government, which is why the Israeli government keeps wantonly killing American Palestinians and, of course, other Palestinians,” CAIR deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement. Mitchell further criticized the Trump administration, saying, “If President Trump will not even put America first when Israel murders American citizens, then this is truly an Israel First administration.”
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) has also called for action from the US administration, highlighting the increasing frequency of settler violence against Palestinians. “The US government has a legal and moral obligation to stop Israel’s racist violence against Palestinians. Instead, it’s still backing and funding it,” the group said in a statement.
The Israeli military has claimed that the violence started when Palestinians threw rocks at an Israeli vehicle, leading to clashes that included property destruction, arson, physical confrontations, and stone-throwing. However, Israeli investigations often lead to no charges or meaningful accountability for the abuses of Israeli officers and settlers.
The killing of Muslat is part of a larger pattern of violence in the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been documented ransacking Palestinian neighborhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles in attacks sometimes described as pogroms.
The Israeli military often protects the settlers during these rampages and has shot Palestinians who show any resistance. The United Nations and other prominent human rights organizations consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violations of international law, as part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians.
As settler and military violence intensifies in the West Bank, Israel has killed at least 57,762 Palestinians in Gaza in a campaign that rights groups have described as a genocide. The US provides billions of dollars to Israel every year, and advocates have accused successive US administrations of failing to protect American citizens from Israeli violence in the Middle East.