Anger at US grows in West Bank over killing of Palestinian American

Frustration among Palestinians towards the US has intensified following the killing of two young men, including a Palestinian American, by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya.

Mourners packed the streets on Sunday as the victims were laid to rest. According to Palestinian health authorities and eyewitnesses, Sayfollah Musallet, 21, was beaten to death, while Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot in the chest during a confrontation on Friday evening.

Most of the small town's roughly 3,000 residents share family ties to the US and many hold citizenship, including Musallet, who was killed weeks after flying to visit his mother in Al-Mazr'a Ash-Sharqiya, where he travelled most summers from Tampa, Florida.

“There’s no accountability,” said his father, Kamel Musallet, who flew in from the US to bury his son. “We demand the United States government do something about it... I don’t want his death to go in vain.”

Israeli killings of US citizens in the West Bank in recent years include those of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Friday that it was aware of the latest incident but declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones”. When pressed on Sunday about whether the US would pursue an investigation, the spokesperson referred questions to the Israeli government, reiterating that Washington “has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas”.

The Israeli military stated that an investigation had been opened. It claimed that settlers were lightly injured after Palestinians threw stones, prompting confrontations.

Musallet’s family said medics were prevented from reaching him for nearly three hours. His brother eventually carried him to an ambulance, but Musallet died en route to the hospital.

Eighteen-year-old Domi, a resident who returned to Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya from the US four years ago, said fear had gripped the community since the incident. His parents are now considering sending him back to the US for safety.

“If people have sons like this, they’re going to want to send them back to America because it’s just not safe for them,” he said.

Still, he expressed a sense of conflicted loyalty. “I want to stay near our land, where my family has farmed for generations. But it feels like a betrayal — the US should be doing more to protect us here.”

Rights groups report that settler violence in the West Bank has surged since Israel’s war on Gaza began in late 2023. While dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent years, the Israeli military has significantly intensified its operations across the West Bank.

Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.

In January, US President Donald Trump rescinded sanctions previously imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.