Palestinian father attacked at son’s grave, one year after Israeli settlers murdered him

On 11 July 2025, Israeli occupation settlers brutally murdered Sayfullah “Saif” Musallet – a 23 year old Palestinian- American, and his friend, 23 year old Mohammed al-Shalabi, in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, near Sinjil in the occupied West Bank. Now, a year later, the father of Saif – Kamel Musallet – has been attacked by Israeli settlers when attempting to visit his son’s grave.

A group of journalists accompanying Kamel were also attacked by the unaccountable settlers.

Israeli settler attacks

Several months before the summer of 2025 Israeli settlers set up an outpost amongst Palestinian olive groves in the occupied West Bank. They began to prevent residents from accessing this stolen land. On 11 July 2025, these settlers beat Saif Musallet unconscious, left him for dead, and shot al-Shalabi in the chest. These illegal colonists then blocked the entry of emergency services for over three hours, resulting in the deaths of these two men. 58 Palestinians were also injured due to the violence.

A year after these two Palestinians were viciously attacked and murdered, Kamel Musallet wanted to visit the place where his son took his last breath, to pay tribute to him.

Journalist and human rights activist Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, better known as Andrey X, was among the group of independent journalists and CNN crew who accompanied him. Talking about the Palestinian land the settlers stole in 2025, he told the Canary:

The land has now been completely taken over by the settlers. According to the Oslo Accords, it is in Area A which should be solely controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Under Israeli military law, settlers are not allowed to enter here, but they have. And they have also taken over Palestinian farm houses. They now literally live in the homes of Palestinians from al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya.

The mayor of Sinjil briefed the group on safety and security before they left. He explained there are two known armed settlers in the area – one with an M16 and another with a pistol. He told the group he was concerned they may be targeted and attacked. This is because the settler with the M16 is known for shooting from a distance at anyone who enters the area.

Settlers armed with knives, rocks, and sticks

The group drove to the location where Saif Musallet was murdered to allow his grief-stricken father to spend some time there. But things took a turn for the worst. As Kamel Musallet and the journalists returned to their two cars, they noticed settlers had blocked their only way out of the area. From their outpost they must have seen the group enter the area. They immediately dispatched one car, then another. More settlers joined, and began to launch an attack.

Andrey X told the Canary:

There were several settlers who really looked like children, who were weilding sticks and held large rocks, ready to throw. They told us to stop the cars. At the beginning, we stopped. But one of the settlers started cutting the tyres of the CNN crew car {which was bullet proof} that was in front of us. At that point we decided to keep the cars moving. Then the settlers switched their attention to our car. They jumped on the hood of it, smashed our windshield with a stick, and started throwing rocks at us. We managed to speed away, but they pursued us. They then called another vehicle and group of settlers who blocked us off further down the road.

Yesterday I was ambushed and attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, together with the CNN and independent journalists. Here is how it happened: pic.twitter.com/eA9FwNv8e6

— Andrey X (@the_andrey_x) July 12, 2026

Impunity

Luckily the group managed to break through the blockade, although not before the settlers attacked their vehicles once more. When the group made it to the town of Sinjil, there was then a stand off between the two sides, and the settlers began filming using a drone. Among the settlers stood a person dressed in full army uniform, carrying an assault rifle. But there were no military vehicles arriving at that point, and he seemed to appear from nowhere. It was likely that one of the settlers who attacked them had a uniform in his car.

Andrey X described:

Then the army arrived. They were very aggressive and told us we were not allowed to film, which was blatantly untrue.

But once they realised journalists were present, another group of Israeli occupation soldiers turned up, with their commander:

He was much friendlier, and said it was horrible what had happened to us, and he would pursue it. They did, in fact, arrest four of the settlers. But the only reason this happened is because there was a CNN crew involved, and it would be bad PR for Israel.

There has been no justice for the families of al-Shalabi and Musallet. Nor for others whose loved ones have been murdered by the occupation. Their killers remain free to continue terrorising and displacing Palestinian communities. In many cases, Palestinians know many of the local violent settlers who harass, intimidate, attack, and kill, by name. But as the Israeli occupation government, police, military, settlers, and justice system are all part of the same apartheid colonial project, there is no hope of justice or accountability.

Israeli settlers get away with murder

Andrey X realises luck was on their side. Had the settlers been armed, the situation would have ended very differently. He told me:

Luckily for us the settlers weren’t armed. Of course, we were scared for our lives. These are very, very dangerous people, who kill with complete impunity. They can do anything they want in the West Bank, there is no accountability. For Saif’s family, any hope for justice is very tenuous, as long as the regime that resulted in his murder is still standing.

Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din says the occupation has enabled violence against Palestinians by equipping thousands of settlers with military firearms and uniforms. It claims settlers wear these uniforms to appear as though they belong to the military. They can then abuse the power that comes with these  uniforms to commit offenses against Palestinians.

While enabling the violence, occupation authorities fail to hold perpetrators accountable. Complaints are routinely dismissed. The Military Advocate General’s Corps claims the incidents fall outside its jurisdiction because they are not part of military operations. While the Israel occupation police often close cases or argues it lacks jurisdiction because the perpetrators were in military uniform.

US has duty to protect US citizens and secure accountability for deaths

Many Palestinian Americans live in, or regularly travel to, the West Bank. Some were born in the US while others later became U.S. citizens and returned. In some villages, such as Turmus Ayya, Sinjil, and Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, more than 80 percent of residents hold dual US citizenship. But they have received no help or protection from the US government, unlike American citizens in other countries.

Double standards are involved in the protection of Americans abroad. Its strong support for the Israeli occupation has taken precedence over seeking justice for its own citizens in the occupied territory. Where “Israel” is involved, there is little or no hope of credible, independent investigations, or any accountability. This is true even if the occupation has killed or injured US citizens in Palestine.

Saif Musallet was one of nine US citizens to be murdered in the West Bank by the Israeli occupation, since January 2022.  US Senators have claimed that in each of these killings:

No one has yet been held accountable by the Netanyahu government, nor has the US government upheld its duty to protect Americans and secure justice and accountability for their deaths.

They say there is “a consistent pattern,” of Americans being killed in the West Bank by the occupation without justice or accountability, despite promises from US officials.

The latest events have only added to questions about the US response. Andrey X tells me:

It’s a funny coincidence that this all came at the same time as senator Ro Khanna’s visit to the West Bank, and the attack on an American CNN crew, which was covering the murder of two American citizens a year ago. It’s a very American story.

Featured image via the Canary