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The medication of United States President Donald Trump has called connected Israel to probe the sidesplitting of 20-year-old American national Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to decease by settlers successful the occupied West Bank, calling the incidental a “terrorist act”.
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said connected Tuesday that helium asked Israel to “aggressively investigate” the sidesplitting of the Florida-born Musallet, who was visiting household erstwhile helium was attacked successful the Palestinian municipality of Sinjil.
“There indispensable beryllium accountability for this transgression and violent act,” Huckabee wrote successful a societal media post. “Saif was conscionable 20 yrs old.”
Huckabee’s powerfully worded station marks a uncommon captious stance towards Israel by the US envoy, a staunch Israel supporter, who has antecedently said, “There’s truly nary specified happening arsenic a Palestinian.”
But the US ambassador’s statement stops abbreviated of backing the Musallet family’s request for Washington to motorboat its ain probe into the killing.
Critics accidental Israel seldom holds its settlers oregon soldiers accountable for abuses against Palestinians. Musallet was the ninth US national to beryllium killed by Israel since 2022. None of the erstwhile cases has led to transgression charges.
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project said Israel should not beryllium trusted to “investigate the extremist settlers it enables astatine each turn”, renewing calls for an autarkic US probe.
Israel’s authorities cannot beryllium trusted to analyse the extremist settlers it enables astatine each turn.
Saif was a US citizen. Our authorities indispensable behaviour its ain independent, thorough, and transparent probe arsenic it would if an American were killed successful immoderate different country. https://t.co/oGnLSl5ic6
— IMEU Policy Project (@imeupolicy) July 15, 2025
Another Palestinian, identified by wellness officials arsenic Mohammed Shalabi, was changeable dormant by settlers during the aforesaid onslaught that killed Musallet connected Friday.
Israeli settlers person been intensifying their assaults connected Palestinian communities successful the West Bank since the outbreak of the war connected Gaza successful 2023.
Often protected by the Israeli military, settlers regularly descend from their amerciable settlements onto Palestinian towns, wherever they ransack homes, cars and farms and onslaught anyone who whitethorn basal successful their way.
Several Western countries, including apical allies of Israel, person imposed sanctions connected far-right Israeli officials and groups implicit settler violence.
Trump lifted sanctions related to settler attacks, enactment successful spot by his predecessor, Joe Biden, aft returning to the White House earlier this year.
The US provides Israel with billions of dollars successful subject assistance annually.
Over the past fewer days, respective Congress members person called for accountability for Musallet.
Hakeem Jeffries, the apical Democrat successful the House of Representatives, called the sidesplitting of Musallet “shocking and appalling”.
“The Israeli authorities indispensable thoroughly analyse this sidesplitting and clasp immoderate and each settlers liable for the brutal decease of Mr Musallet accountable to the fullest grade of the law,” helium said successful a statement.
Congressman Maxwell Frost, who represents a territory successful Florida, besides decried the “cold-blooded murder”.
“As our country’s self-proclaimed peacemaker, Donald Trump has a motivation and law work to nonstop the State Department to behaviour a thorough probe and, much importantly, to request afloat justness and accountability for those liable for this heinous act,” Frost said successful a statement.
“Our state indispensable guarantee the extortion and information of Americans abroad.”
On Friday, Israel said it was “investigating” what happened successful Sinjil, claiming that the unit started erstwhile Palestinians threw rocks astatine an Israeli vehicle.
“Shortly thereafter, convulsive clashes developed successful the country betwixt Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included the demolition of Palestinian property, arson, carnal confrontations, and stone-throwing,” the Israeli subject said successful a statement.
But Musallet’s household has disputed immoderate relationship of “clashes”, saying that a “mob” of settlers surrounded the young Palestinian American for 3 hours during the onslaught and prevented medics from reaching him.
Florida’s Republican politicians person been mostly soundless astir the sidesplitting of Musallet. The offices of the state’s 2 senators, Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s petition for comment.
Since Musallet was killed connected Friday, Scott has shared respective societal media posts successful enactment of Israel.
On Tuesday, the Council connected American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), called connected Moody, Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Congresswoman Laurel Lee, who represented Musallet, to condemn the sidesplitting of the US citizen.
The advocacy radical said the officials’ soundlessness is “complicity”, not neutrality.
“When American citizens similar Saif are killed overseas, particularly by Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli government, looking the different mode sends a unsafe message: that immoderate American lives simply don’t matter,” CAIR said successful a societal media post. “We request better.”
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