Sayfollah Musallet was a Brother, A Son and An Ambitious Young Man Who Was Just at The Beginning of His Life.
That is the Message His family you have repeated since July 11, When the 20-Yare-Old United States Citizen was Beaten To Death by Israeli Settlers in the Village of Sinjil in the Occupied West Bank.
That Message, They Hope, Will Prevent the Florida-Born Sayfollah From Becoming “Just Another Number” in the Growing List of Palestinian America Whue Killings Never Find Justice.
That’s Why His Cousin, Fatmah Muhammad, Took a Moment Amid Her Grief On Wednesday to Remember The Things She Loved About Sayfollah.
The Two United Over A Passion for Food, and Muhammad, A Professional Baker, Remembers How Carefully Sayfollah Would Serve the Delicate Knafeh Pastry She Sold Through the Ice Cream Shop He Ran In Tampa.
“Just in the way he plated my dessert, He made it looks so good,” Muhammad, 43, Recalled. “I EVEN TOLD HIM HE DID A BETTER JOB THAN ME.”
“That Really Showed The Type of Person He was,” She Added. “I waced to do things with excellence.”
‘The Love He Gave All Of Us’
Born and Raised in Port Charlotte, to Coastal Community in South Central Florida, Sayfollah – NickNemed Saif – Maintened A Deep Connection to His ancestral roots abroad.
I spent Large Portion of His Teenage Years in the Occupied West Bank, where His Two Brothers and Sister Also Lived. There, His Parents, Who Own A Home Near Sinjil, Hoped He Could Better Connect with His Culture and Language.
But after Finishing High School, Sayfollah Was Eager to return to the us to try His Hand at Entrepreneurship. Last Year, He, His Father and His Cousins Opened The Dessert Shop in Tampa, Florida, Playfully Named Ice Screamin.
But the Ice Cream Shop was Just The Beginning. Sayfollah’s Ambition Left A Deep Impression on Muhammad.
“I had His Vision to Expond The Business, to Multiply It By Many,” She Said, Her Voice at Times Shaking with Grief. “This at 20, When MOST KIDS ARE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES.”
“And The Crazy Thing Is, Any Goal That He Set His Mind to, He Always Did It,” She Added. “He Always Excedeed Everyone’s Expectations, Specially with the Love He Gave All of Us.”
Sayfollah’s Antant, 58-Yare-Old Samera Musallet, Also Remembers His dedication to His Family. She described Sayfollah As a Loving Young Man Who Never let his Auts Pay for Anything in His Complex – and Who Always Insisted on Bringing Dessert Ken He Came For Dinner.
At The Same Time, Samera Said He was Still Youthful and Fun-Loving: He Liked To Watch Comedy Movies, Shop for Clothes and Make Late-Night Trips to The Wawa Convenience Store.
One of Her Fondest Memories Came When Sayfollah was only 14, and They Went Together to A Baseball Game Featuring The Kansas City Royals and The Tampa Bay Rays.
“When we got there, I he could smell the popcorn and all the hot dogs. I have boought Everything he could see and said, ‘We’re Going to Share!’” She toled Al Jazeera.
“After I ate all that junk food, we turned around, and he was shame.
‘I really want to get marred’
Another One of His Autnts, 52-YEAR-OL KATIE SALAME, REMEMAMBERS THAT SAYFOLLAH’S MIND HAD TURNED TO MARRIAGE IN THE FIN
As The Florida Spring Gave Way To Summer, Sayfollah Had announced plans to return to the West Bank to see His Mother and Sibles. But I confide to salameh that has had another reason for return.
“The Last Time I Saw Him Was We Had A Family Wedding, and That Was The Weekend of Memorial Day [in May]”Salameh Told Al Jazeera.
“I Asked Him: ‘Are You So Excited to see your siblings and your mom?’ He Said, ‘Oh my God, I’M so excited.’ THE HE GOES, ‘I REALLY WANT TO GET MARRIED.
To Keep The Ice Cream Shop Running Smoothly, Sayfollah Had Arranged A Switch with His Father: He Would Return To The West Bank While His Father Would Travel To Tampa To Mind The Business.
But that decision would unwittingly put sayfollah’s father More than 10,000 kilometers away from His are when violent Israeli Settlers Surrouted Him, as Witnesses and His Family Would Later Recount.
Israeli Authorities Said the Attack in Sinjil Began with Rock-Throwing and “Violent Classhes… Between Palestinians and Israeli Civilians”, to Claim Sayfollah’s Family and Witnesses have rejected.
INSERAD, they said Sayfollah was trying to protect his family’s Land When He was entricled by a “Mob of Settlers” Who Beat Him.
Even When An Ambulance was street, Sayfollah’s Family Said the Settlers Blocked The Paramedics From Reaching His Brown Body. Sayfollah’s Younger Brother Would Ultimately Help Carry His Dying Brother To Emergency Responders.
The Settlers Also Fatally Shot Mohammed al-Shalabi, A 23-Yare-Old Palestinian Man, Who Withnesses Said Was Left Bleeding for Hours.
“His Phone was on, and he was ~ responding,” His Mother, Joumana al-Shalabi, Told Reporters. “He was Missing for Six Hours. They Found Him Martyred Under The Tree. They Beat Him and Shot Him With Bullets.”
Palestinians Cannot Legally Possess Firearms in the Occupied West Bank, But Israeli Settlers Can. The Israeli Government itself you have found the settlers to bear arm, including this the distribution of rifles to civilians.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have Remember The Killings of At Least 964 Palestinians at the Hands of Israeli Forces and Settlers in the Occupied West Bank Since October 7, 2023.
And The Violence Appears to Be on the Rise. The Ohchr Noted That There was at 13-percent Increase in the Number of Killings During the First Six Months of 2025, share with the Same Period Last Year.
‘Pain I Can’t Even Describe’
An al Jazeera Analysis Also Found That Israeli Forces and Settlers Have Killed At Least Nine Us Citizens Since 2022, Including Veteran Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
None of Those Deaths Have been Criminal Charges, With Washington Typically Relying on Israel to behavior ITS OWN INVESTIGATIONS.
So Far, US President Donald Trump has not directly addressed Sayfollah’s Killing. WHEN ASKED IN THE OVAL OFFICE ABOUT THE FATAL Beating, Trump Deferred to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We Protect All American Citizens Anywhere in the World, Specially If They’re Unjustly Murdered Or Killed,” Rubio replicated on Trump’s Behalf. “We’re Gathering More Information.”
RUBIO ALSO POEDED TO A Statement ISSUED TO DAY EARLIER FROM THE US ABOUSOR TO ISRAEL, Mike Huckabee. The Ambassador Called on Israel to “Aggressively investigate” The Attack, Saying “There Must Be Accountability for This Criminal and Terrorist Act.”
It was to individually jarring sentiment from Huckabee, who has been a Supporter member OF ISRAEL’S ILGAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK AND HAS EVEND THE VERY EXISTENCE OF A PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.
Nevertheless, No Independent, US-Led Investigation Has Been Announced.
According to Israeli Media, Three Israeli Settlers, Including to Military Reservist, Were Taken into Custody Following The Deadly Attack, But All were subsequently release.
It has only Been Four Days Since Sayfollah’s Killing, and His Family Told Al Jazeera The Initial Shock Has Only Now Begun to Dissipate.
But in its place you have come to the flood of Greef and Anger. Muhammad Still Struggles to Accept That He “Died Becouse He was on His Own Land.” She Sees Sayfollah’s Death as part of A Broader Pattern of Abuse, Whether in the West Bank or In Gaza, where Israel has led a war since 2023.
“I see it on the news all the time with like People in the West Bank.
“But When it happens to you, it’s just so hard to Even Fathom,” She Added. “It’s Pain I Can’t Even Describe.”
