Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank beat a U.S. citizen to death, according to local officials, during a Friday confrontation between a group of Israelis and Palestinians.
A municipal official and a relative of 21-year-old Sayfollah Musallet confirmed his death to NPR. Musallet was born in Florida and was in the village of Sinjil this week visiting family.
The Israeli military said that a confrontation had broken out between Palestinians and Israelis, and officials were investigating reports of a Palestinian civilian killed.
A U.S. embassy spokesperson confirmed Musallet's death.
Israeli officials rarely prosecute those accused of violence against Palestinians, and when they do, a very small percentage end in conviction.
The U.S. Department of Justice has faced criticisms from its own attorneys for the "glaring gap" between how the agency investigates crimes committed by Russia and Hamas, as opposed to accusations of crimes committed by Israel and its citizens.
Since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas against Israel that killed some 1,200 people and resulted in the kidnapping of several hundred more, tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have been on the rise, even among the civilian population.
Israel's response to the attacks has resulted in the deaths of more than 55,000 Palestinians – over half of whom were women and children – and left more than 127,000 wounded.
And Israel's unrelenting siege in the region has resulted in a humanitarian crisis that has pushed health and welfare infrastructures in Gaza to the verge of collapse.
Despite widespread condemnation by some world leaders of Israel's heavy-handed retaliation against Hamas, the United States continues to provide funding for the 21-month-long conflict.
Last month, the Trump administration said it would dedicate $30 million to an Israeli-backed program to control Gaza's limited food supplies that the United Nations has described as a "death trap."
Ongoing attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have so far proven unsuccessful.
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