Today, a funeral for a 20-year-old American man was held in the occupied West Bank. He was beaten to death on Friday, July 11. Sayfollah Musallet was “brutally beaten to death” by a group of Israeli racist thugs, otherwise known as “settlers.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Israel confirmed Musallet’s death.
After beating him, the settlers then blocked an ambulance from reaching their victim for about three hours. Only after they were dispersed was Musallet’s brother able to carry him to an ambulance; however Musallet died before reaching the hospital. His family released a statement which calls upon the U.S. State Department to “lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes.”
In response to a request for comment from NBC News, a State Department spokesperson said it was “aware of reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank,” adding the department had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim. (One can imagine the response, including to the family, had an American been beaten to death in China, Iran or Russia.)
Saif Musallet, born in Florida, worked in the family ice cream shop, Tampa’s Ice Screamin. His cousin, Fatmah Muhammed, told NBC News yesterday that Musallet had traveled to the West Bank in June to visit his mother, brother, and sister. The family statement said: “He was a kind, hard-working, and deeply-respected young man, working to build his dreams.... We are devastated that our beloved Sayfollah Musallet, nicknamed Saif, was brutally beaten to death by Israeli settlers while he was protecting his family’s land from settlers who were attempting to steal it.”
The site of the killings, the town near Ramallah called al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, housed many of Palestine’s better-off citizens. A close family friend, Nizar Milbes, told NBC News that many residents of the town are Americans, that the town was known for its rolling hills, olive trees, and upscale homes. He said: “There’s nothing left over here for people to enjoy, the settlers have taken everything. People can’t even go there anymore. The settlers have burned the vacation homes, they’ve encroached and put their stuff there.”
Israeli daily Haaretz reports that, according to Mutaz Tawafsha, head of the Sinjil town local council, that for the past two months, a large group of settlers has been attempting to establish an outpost south of the village. “Any resident or farmer who tries to reach their land is attacked by settlers—they’re fired at, physically assaulted.... This land is dear to us, and we will not leave it.” In the area settlers have recently been torching homes, vehicles and agricultural fields.
On Friday, July 11, the settlers assaulted and injured a dozen, including Saif Musallet. But he, along with Mohammed al-Shalabi, a Palestinian, were the only ones who died from their wounds, when settlers blocked the ambulances. Al-Shalabi died of his gunshot wounds, after being shot in the chest, with the bullet entering from his back. He was left bleeding for hours before medics could reach him, which contributed to his death. A family member told Haaretz that he saw signs of choking and violence against al-Shalabi’s body, and that his feet were burned.
Three arrests were made—two anti-settler Israelis on suspicion of acting in a manner that could endanger public security, and a resident of northern Israel’s Mazraa on suspicion of disturbing the peace. All three were released the next morning. Apparently, none of the local settlers was detained.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said July 11 that it was “aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation, and they are being looked into by the ISA and Israel Police.” Aside from their record of rarely taking any action against settlers, they also conspicuously omitted any mention of the American civilian who was killed.
An Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din, reports that over the last two decades, more than 93% of investigations of settler violence closed without an indictment, and only 3% of investigations led to conviction. They stated: “The low conviction rate sends the message that the law enforcement system, in its entirety, does not consider settler violence to be a serious issue, contributing to the perpetrators’ sense of immunity.”
All that the settlers were missing were their hoods and robes. Ku Klux Klan, anyone?
