Palestinian officials report that two Palestinians have died following an attack by Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry stated that Sayfollah Musallet, 20, a U.S. citizen from Florida, was fatally beaten during the incident in Sinjil on Friday evening.
The ministry also confirmed the death of Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, who was killed by gunfire to the chest.
The Israeli military reports that stones were thrown at Israelis near Sinjil, leading to “a violent confrontation in the area.” Security forces are investigating the reports of the Palestinian deaths.
The U.S. State Department acknowledged awareness of reports concerning the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank but declined further comment, citing respect for the family’s privacy.
Sayfollah Musallet, known as Saif, was a businessman born in Florida who had traveled from Tampa to the West Bank on June 4 to visit family, according to a family statement.
The family statement alleges that he was “brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was protecting his family’s land from settlers who were attempting to steal it.”
The statement further claims that “Israeli settlers surrounded Saif for over three hours as paramedics attempted to reach him, but the mob of settlers blocked the ambulance and paramedics from providing life-saving aid.”
“After the mob of Israeli settlers cleared, Saif’s younger brother rushed to carry his brother to the ambulance. Saif died before making it to the hospital.”
The family is calling on the U.S. State Department to “lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes.”
Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, reports that Mohammed al-Shalabi was from al-Mazraa al-Sharqiya, located south of Sinjil.
Wafa cites the Palestinian health ministry as stating that settlers shot al-Shalabi in the chest during the same attack that resulted in the death of Sayfollah Musallet.
The agency reports that he was left bleeding for hours before paramedics could reach him.
Wafa also reports that ten additional Palestinians from Sinjil and neighboring areas sustained injuries in clashes with settlers, who were allegedly armed with automatic rifles.
The Israeli military issued a statement on Friday night asserting that “terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli civilians adjacent to Sinjil,” resulting in light injuries to two individuals.
The statement continues, “A violent confrontation developed in the area involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes, and rock hurling.”
The military stated that soldiers, police, and paramilitary Border Police forces were deployed to the area and “used riot dispersal means in response to the violent confrontation.”
The statement also noted awareness of reports regarding the death of a Palestinian civilian and injuries to a number of Palestinians, stating that the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Police are investigating the incidents.
When questioned by the BBC on Saturday regarding reports of a second Palestinian death, the military stated, “The situation is under review.”
In a separate development, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has condemned recent violence by Israeli settlers against the Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank.
Much of the land in Taybeh is owned by Palestinian-Americans, and local sources indicate that approximately 300 residents hold U.S. passports.
Attacks in the area, including arson and assaults on homes, have reportedly escalated. On Monday, settlers allegedly set fire to fields near a fifth-century church, prompting calls for international intervention from local clergy.
In response, the State Department affirmed that the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas remains a top priority, adding that the protection of Christians is a priority for President Donald Trump.
Since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has constructed approximately 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jewish residents. Palestinians claim these territories, along with Gaza, as part of a future state. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians reside alongside the settlers.
The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, a position supported by an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year, although Israel disputes this interpretation.
Since the onset of the war in Gaza, there has been a marked increase in settler violence targeting Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, continuing an upward trend.
The UN reports that at least 910 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, 13 by Israeli settlers, and another seven by either Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the war. At least 44 Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank over the same period.
During this period, there has been a significant surge in both the number and severity of settler attacks in the West Bank. The UN recorded 136 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage in May alone.
On Thursday, a 22-year-old Israeli security guard, Shalev Zvuluny, was fatally shot when two Palestinian men opened fire and attempted to stab passersby in the parking lot of a shopping center in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the southern West Bank.
Police report that soldiers and armed civilians present at the scene shot and killed the attackers.
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