Israeli Ambassador Calls for Investigation into Murder of Palestinian-American
On Tuesday, Israeli ambassador Mike Huckabee urged Israeli authorities to “actively investigate” the murder of Seyphora Musalet, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American, who was attacked by a group of extremist settlers in the West Bank village of Singil on Friday.
Huckabee expressed his concerns on social media, highlighting the tragedy: “We asked Israel to actively investigate the murder of Saif Mussalet, an American citizen who was visiting his family in Singil when he was beaten.” According to family members, Musalet had traveled from Tampa, Florida, to reconnect with relatives and visit family-owned farmland.
The family described the situation as “an unimaginable nightmare and injustice” and demanded that the U.S. State Department lead a thorough investigation, holding those responsible accountable.
As for the incident, Israeli military officials stated that the trouble began when Palestinians reportedly threw rocks at settlers, lightly injuring two individuals. The IDF was deployed to the scene, employing non-lethal crowd control measures.
So far, no arrests have been made regarding Musalet’s murder. An Israeli minor was put under house arrest after being detained for supposedly obstructing the public. Furthermore, reservists questioned by military police about the incident were also released.
Musalet was reportedly fatally beaten during the confrontation, and another victim, a 23-year-old named Mohammed Al-Sharabi, was shot dead. An Israeli police source mentioned that complications in the investigation might arise due to the absence of an autopsy and the body not being handed over to Israeli authorities.
During the ongoing aftermath, the military court released Abdullah Hamida, a Palestinian who had been taken into custody during the settlers’ actions. He criticized police behavior, revealing that during the hearing, police claimed ignorance of the fatalities, mistakenly stating that only a settler had been injured.
The State Department recognized the incident but opted not to comment further, citing the need to respect the privacy of the affected families.
