Over two dozen Democratic senators are calling for the Trump administration to investigate the recent death of an American allegedly beaten to death by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led 28 of his Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter sent Thursday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The lawmakers are calling for the administration to launch an independent investigation into the death of 20-year-old Saifullah Kamel Musallet.
While U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there must be accountability for “this criminal and terrorist act,” he stopped short of saying that the U.S. would launch its own investigation. Huckabee demanded Israel “aggressively investigate the murder.”
The West Bank has long been a hot-bed of confrontation between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, but lawmakers and advocates are increasingly raising concern over the lack of accountability for the violence and, in particular, for American Palestinians killed.
“Saifullah Kamal Musallet is the seventh American citizen killed in the West Bank since January 2022 — and the fifth in just the last nineteen months,” the lawmakers wrote.
“The killings of these Americans in the West Bank have been met by a lack of accountability from the Netanyahu government and an inability to secure justice by the U.S. government. These failures have contributed to an unacceptable culture of impunity when it comes to incidents where civilians have been killed in the West Bank, including Americans,” they continued.
While the Biden administration imposed sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers found to have engaged in significant violence, the executive order enforcing them was repealed by President Trump when he came into office in January.
“The United States Government has failed to secure accountability for the killing of respected Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, or any of the other five American citizens – Omar Assad, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, and Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee – killed in the West Bank since January 2022,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Following the Trump Administration’s sudden revocation of all U.S. sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank, the first five months of 2025 have seen the highest rate of settler attacks in years and the killing of another American. We urge you to pursue a different approach.”
Musallet, an American citizen from Florida, was visiting his family’s hometown near the Palestinian capital city of Ramallah in the West Bank in early July. He was killed July 11 in an alleged confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli settlers. The Palestinian Health Ministry reportedly said Musallet was beaten by Israeli settlers, and witnesses reported saying he died while waiting for medical attention held up by the Israeli military.
Musallet was reportedly killed near the West Bank town of Sinjil, in what is known as Area B of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority holds civilian control but the Israeli military maintains security control.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington said Israel is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of Musallet’s death and that preliminary findings do not support the claim that his death resulted directly from physical trauma, such as blunt-force injuries or assault.
“According to initial findings, the violence began when Palestinian individuals threw rocks and used slingshots against Jewish civilians. The situation escalated into a violent clash between both sides, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians, one of whom was a U.S. citizen,” the spokesperson said, and added that the incident “was a tragedy.”
The spokesperson said Israel formally requested the transfer of the body for an autopsy and access to any relevant autopsy reports, but they blamed the Palestinian Authority as refusing to cooperate.
“Israel remains committed to upholding the rule of law and investigating all incidents thoroughly. We hope cooperation from all relevant parties will allow for a full understanding of the events that took place near Sinjil on July 11,” the official said.
The Palestinian Authority did not immediately return a request for comment.
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