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US calls on Israel to probe killing of American citizen by settlers as 'terrorist act'
Ahead of Huckabee's call for investigation, Saif Musallet's family had called on the US government to launch its own investigation into the killing.
The Trump administration has called on Israel to probe the killing of a 20-year-old American as a "terrorist" attack. Sayfollah Musallet, an American citizen in occupied West Bank, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has called on Tel Aviv to "aggressively investigate" the killing of the Florida native.
"I have asked Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death. There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old," wrote Huckabee on X.
The US envoy's remarks come as a rare criticism for Israel. Huckabee, who is a staunch Israel support, was one quoted as saying that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian."
Ahead of Huckabee's call for investigation, Saif Musallet's family had called on the US government to launch its own investigation into the killing.
What happened to Saif?
Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, was severely beaten by settlers in the occupied West Bank region on July 12. As per the Palestinian Health Ministry, the incident took place in Sinjil, north of Ramallah.
His family, who are from Tampa, Florida, said that medics failed to reach him for hours and Saif died before reaching the hospital.
"This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face. We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes," said the statement issued by the family.
Along with the family, the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) has called on the US to open its own investigation into the killing, stating that Israel "cannot be trusted."
"Israel’s government cannot be trusted to investigate the extremist settlers it enables at every turn.Saif was a US citizen. Our government must conduct its own independent, thorough, and transparent investigation as it would if an American were killed in any other country," the institute wrote on X.
Sharp increase in settler violence
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, there has been a stark increase in settler attacks across the occupied West Bank region.
As per the UN, around 910 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the start of the war. Of this, around 13 have been killed by Israeli settlers and seven more by either the IDF or settlers in the region.
In the same period, around 44 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in Israel and occupied West Bank.
Since its occupation of the Palestinian territory, Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews. Around 3.3 million Palestinians continue to live alongside them in the West Bank and East Jerusalem regions.
