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US ambassador demands Israel aggressively investigate West Bank death

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called for a thorough investigation into the killing of Sayfollah “Saif” Musallat, a 20-year-old US citizen from Florida, who the Palestinian health ministry says was fatally beaten by Israeli settlers in Sinjil, West Bank. Huckabee condemned the incident as a “criminal and terrorist act,” despite his long-standing support for Israeli settlements. The Israeli military claims the deaths occurred during a violent confrontation, while Musallat’s family accuses settlers of attacking him, blocking medical aid, and attempting to seize their land. His friend Mohammed al-Shalabi, 23, was also killed by gunfire. The family has urged the US State Department to launch its own probe, as Huckabee faces criticism for his pro-settlement stance and past remarks on the Gaza conflict.

Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, stated he has formally requested that Israeli authorities undertake a rigorous investigation into the death of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old US citizen, who, according to the Palestinian health ministry, was fatally beaten by settlers in Sinjil, located in the occupied West Bank.

After an initially restrained response from Washington, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee—who has long supported Israeli settlements in the occupied territories—on Tuesday condemned the killing as a “criminal and terrorist act.”

“There must be accountability,” he wrote on X, adding: “Saif was just 20 years old.”

The Israeli military said on Friday it had launched an investigation, claiming a “violent confrontation” had erupted when “terrorists” threw stones at Israeli civilians.

Sayfollah Musallat, known as Saif, was a 20-year-old dual US citizen from Tampa, Florida. He was visiting family in Sinjil, a town north of Ramallah, when he was killed alongside his friend, Mohammed al-Shalabi.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, al-Shalabi, 23, died after being shot in the chest.

Musallat’s family said he was defending their land from settlers who were attempting to seize it. They also accused Israeli settlers of blocking an ambulance from reaching him, causing him to die before receiving hospital care.

The family has called on the US State Department to conduct its own investigation.

Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and evangelical Christian, has been an outspoken supporter of Israeli settlements—regarded as illegal under international law—and has faced criticism from opposition Democrats for his comments on the ongoing Gaza conflict.

He has endorsed the idea of a “greater Israel,” supporting permanent Israeli control over the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and frequently uses the biblical terms “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the West Bank.

Last month, he criticised US allies including the UK and Australia for imposing sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers over what those governments called repeated incitement to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.