TAMPA – Saif Musallet, a U.S. citizen and Tampa resident, was killed on Friday throughout a visit to the West Financial institution, based on his household and Palestinian well being officers.
His family members say he was tenting with two different males on Friday evening when a gaggle of Israeli settlers attacked them.
“He simply went abroad to see his mother and household, simply going to the mountains along with his associates, having fun with life,” mentioned Rassim Musallet, Saif’s uncle.
Saif and one of many different males died. The Palestinian Well being Ministry reported that Saif died from accidents sustained within the assault.
The U.S. State Division confirmed it’s conscious of experiences involving the dying of a U.S. citizen within the West Financial institution, and the Israeli authorities mentioned it’s trying into what it described as “a violent confrontation involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians.”
The backstory:
Born and raised in Port Charlotte, Florida, Saif Musallet moved to Tampa with massive desires.
Simply over a yr in the past, he and his household bought an ice cream store in North Tampa, the place he shortly grew to become recognized for his heat demeanor and desires of increasing into a series of companies.
What they’re saying:
“He was extraordinarily clever. He was extraordinarily variety. You merely couldn’t be unhappy round him,” mentioned Mary McFarland-Santiago, a buddy and coworker.
His uncle, Rassim, described him as a selfless younger man filled with optimistic power. “He at all times cared for another person earlier than himself,” he mentioned.
Saif’s journey to the West Financial institution was meant to be a time to reconnect with family members — and presumably meet somebody he may sooner or later marry. His coronary heart, nevertheless, remained in Tampa, the place he hoped to develop his enterprise footprint.
The opposite facet:
The Israeli authorities has not but confirmed who was answerable for the deaths. Officers described the incident as a “violent confrontation involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians.” No costs have been filed, and the matter stays underneath investigation.
Israeli settlements within the West Financial institution — which the United Nations considers unlawful — have change into more and more contentious underneath the management of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pro-settler authorities. Assaults and confrontations between settlers and Palestinians have escalated in current months.
The opposite facet:
Saif Musallet’s dying provides to the rising checklist of Palestinian-American casualties within the West Financial institution, underscoring the rising hazard for civilians — together with U.S. residents — caught in the course of intensifying regional violence.
By the numbers:
Three Palestinian-American youngsters have been killed within the West Financial institution up to now two years. Israel captured the West Financial institution in 1967 throughout the Six-Day Warfare.
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The Supply: This story is predicated on firsthand interviews with Saif Musallet’s household and associates in Tampa and the West Financial institution, data from the Palestinian Well being Ministry, public statements from the U.S. State Division and Israeli officers, and archived video content material from FOX 13 Information. Reporting by Craig Patrick.
