JAKARTA - A Palestinian-American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Another man was reportedly shot dead.
US citizen SayaULLah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was badly beaten in Friday night's incident in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, Palestinian Health Ministry said. Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, was shot in the chest.
The Musallet family, from Tampa, Florida, said medics tried to contact him for three hours before his brother managed to get him into an ambulance, but he died before arriving at the hospital.
"This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that any family should never face. We demand the US State Department to immediately lead the investigation and hold Israeli settlers accountable for killing Saif for their crimes", the family said in a statement.
A spokesman for the US State Department said they were aware of the incident, but did not provide further comments in order to respect the privacy of the victim's family.
The Israeli military says Israel is investigating an incident in the city of Sinjil. The confrontation between Palestinians and settlers came after Palestinians threw stones at Israelis, resulting in minor injuries.
The military said troops were sent to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowd.
Migrant violence in the West Bank has escalated since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian militant groups Hamas in Gaza in late 2023, according to human rights groups.
Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years, and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.
US President Donald Trump in January lifted sanctions imposed by the previous Biden administration against Israeli settlers and individuals accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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Israel's killings of US citizens in the West Bank in recent years include the assassination of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea, and Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.
The United Nations Supreme Court last year declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and settlements there illegal and must be withdrawn as soon as possible.
Israel denies this, citing historical and alkitabiah ties to the region, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is one of the territories championed by Palestine to become an independent country.
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