According to his family and the Palestinian Foreign Office, the 20-year-old American from Florida died Friday after being beaten by Israeli settlers.
Seyphora Musalet, known as Saif, was “cruelly killed” in the town of Al Mazra Ash Sharkiya, north of Ramala, the family said in a statement on social media, confirming with NBC News. According to the family, a group of settlers prevented the ambulance from reaching Musaloo for about three hours.
According to the statement, after the settlers had cleared it, Musaloo’s brothers were able to contact him and take him to an ambulance. However, “Saif died before he arrived at the hospital.”
Sayfollah Musallet, 20, died of beaten by an Israeli settler. (Fatma Muhammad)
According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, the second man, Mohammed al-Sharabi, 23, was also killed in the same incident.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in developments built on Palestinian territory, widely considered illegal by the international community. In October 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked a war in Gaza, violence committed by settlers in the West Bank rose sharply, often being helped or killed by Israeli security forces.
Settlers’ attacks include raids on villages, arson targeting homes and farmlands, and physical attacks on residents who have become regularly fatal.
It is currently unknown why the conflict that killed Musalo and Alsharabi began.
In response to a request for comment from NBC News, a State Department spokesman added that he was “aware of the reported reports of the deaths of US citizens on the West Bank.”
The Israeli Defense Forces said Friday that “recognizing reports of Palestinian civilians being killed and reports of many injured Palestinians as a result of the conflict, they are being watched by Isa and the Israeli police.”
Israeli police did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for information about the incident or related settlers.
Saif’s cousin Fatma Muhammad told NBC News on Saturday that Musaro was working in an ice cream shop run by his father in Tampa, Florida. He traveled to the West Bank in June to visit his mother, brothers and sisters. Mousarou’s father was on his way from Florida to the West Bank for the event on Sunday.
“The news has been devastating for the whole family,” Muhammad said.
Nizal Milbes, a close family friend who is currently visiting the West Bank from California, told NBC News that many residents of Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya are Americans.
The town is known for its olive trees and gentle hills. There are many modern Palestinian homes built, including more luxurious homes on the West Bank. The family gathered for a barbecue and relaxed. Many of them traveled from the US for holidays, but Milbeth said the growing violence of settlers changed the area.
“There’s nothing left here for people to enjoy. The settlers took it all,” he told NBC News. “People can’t even go there anymore. Settlers have burned their homes for holiday. They’ve broken in and put their things there.”
In March, a UN report warned that settler violence has “increased in an environment of continued immunity.”
Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said settlers rarely face legal consequences for the violence committed against Palestinians. Between 2005 and 2023, more than 93% of all investigations were closed without charges, and only 3% of investigations were found guilty, according to the organization’s report.
“The low conviction rate contributes to the perpetrator’s sense of immunity by sending a message that the entire law enforcement system does not consider settler violence to be a serious issue,” the report said.
According to a database maintained for coordination by the UN Humanitarian Bureau since October 2023, Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 961, a sharp increase in the past.
Cair-Florida, the Florida chapter of the American Council on Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights advocate, denounced Israeli settlers, saying, “Supported and made possible by the Israeli government, President Donald Trump was called “America First.”
“The murder is merely the latest killing of American citizens by illegal Israeli settlers or soldiers,” the statement said. “All other murders of American citizens were not punished by the US government. That’s why the Israeli government continues to kill American Palestinians and of course other Palestinians.”
In April, 14-year-old American Amer Rabee was shot dead by an Israeli soldier. His family said he was choosing almonds, and the IDF said he was throwing rocks. In September 2024, 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Eize was shot dead by Israeli soldiers at a demonstration against a settlement on the West Bank.
American citizens Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Kudor and Tofic Hafes Abdel Jabbar, both 17 years old, were killed in Israeli fires in separate incidents in February and January 2024.
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