Palestinian-American beaten to death by Israeli settlers in West Bank, officials say

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on Jul 12, 2025

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A 20-year-old Palestinian-American from Florida was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers while visiting family in the occupied West Bank, according to local health officials.

Sayfollah Musallet, who was born in Tampa, “was martyred after being severely beaten all over his body by settlers in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah,” according to a news release from the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A second person, 23-year-old Mohammed al-Shalabi, was also fatally shot during the “barbaric attack,” marking the latest in a series of “daily assaults” on local residents, the agency said.

In a statement online, Musallet’s family said he was in the region “protecting” their land from “settlers who were attempting to steal it.” They also claimed a group surrounded Mussallet after the brutal beating, preventing ambulances from reaching him for three hours. As a result, he died of his injuries before he could reach a hospital.

“We demand justice,” his family added.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was “aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians” as a result of a confrontation, which is currently being looked into by the Israel Security Agency and Israel Police. They claimed rocks had been thrown at Israeli settlers, sparking a “violent” melee that involved “physical clashes,” arson and “vandalism of Palestinian property.”

In March, a United Nations report warned that settler violence had “increased in a climate of continuing impunity.”