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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Palestinian-American man from Tampa was killed by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Reuters and The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Citing a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry, the outlets reported that Sayafollah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was beaten to death on Friday in Sinjil.
Musallet’s family told The Washington Post that Musallet is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Port Charlotte. He and his father run an ice cream and dessert shop in Tampa, his father said.
He was visiting family when he was beaten in the attack in Sinjil, a town located north of Ramallah. A second man, identified as Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot.
Musallett’s father called his son’s killing “an unimaginable nightmare and injustice.” Family members alleged that medics tried to reach the 20-year-old for hours before his brother carried him through the crowd to an ambulance, according to Reuters.
“We are aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation, and they are being looked into,” a statement from the Israeli Defense Forces said, The Washington Post reported.
Reuters reported that the IDF claimed the confrontation began when Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli settlers, “lightly injuring them.” A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told the outlet that it was aware of the incident, but declined to comment “out of respect for the privacy of (Musallett’s) family and loved ones.”

Instances of settler violence in the West Bank, often armed groups invading Palestinian villages, have been on the rise since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Three Palestinian-Americans, who were all teenagers, have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war.
Former President Joe Biden issued sanctions against some radical settler groups, but the Trump administration did away with the sanctions shortly after taking office.
“Who is killing us and who is killing our children is the United States with their arms,” said Musallet’s grandmother told The Washington Post. “They can stop this in five minutes if he (Trump) wants to.”