US ambassador asks Israel to investigate death of US citizen in West Bank

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday he has asked Israel to "aggressively" investigate the death of an American citizen who was beaten to death in the West Bank.

"There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old," Huckabee said in a post on X.

The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately provide comment. Israel's military previously said Israel was investigating the incident.

U.S. citizen Sayafollah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was severely beaten in the incident on Friday evening in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

His family, from Tampa, Florida, said in a statement that medics tried to reach him for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance, but that he died before reaching the hospital.

"We must honor his memory by speaking out against violence and working toward a future of peace and dignity," U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, who represents Tampa, said in a post on X. "The Administration must work with our international partners to ensure the protection of Americans abroad."

Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives have condemned the killing of Musallet, and others have called on the U.S. State Department to investigate the incident.

The department did not immediately respond to those calls.

Attacks against Palestinians intensify in occupied West Bank, says UN rights office

There has been an increase in killings of and attacks against Palestinians by settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday.

"Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the past weeks," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR), told reporters in Geneva.

About 30,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the north of the occupied West Bank since the Israeli military launched its "Iron Wall" operation.

It is contributing to the ongoing consolidation of annexation of the West Bank, in violation of international law, the OHCHR said.

In June, the U.N. recorded the highest monthly count of Palestinians injured in over two decades in the West Bank.

Since January there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, which is a 13% increase on the same period last year, OHCHR said.

At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.