Huckabee Condemns West Bank Settlers' 'Terrorist' Murder Of Tampa Man

In a departure from his usual role as a de facto PR agent for the State of Israel, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has condemned West Bank settlers' "terrorist" murder of a Florida-born-and-raised American citizen, and called on Israel to "aggressively investigate." 

Last week, 20-year-old Sayfollah "Saif" Musallet was visiting relatives on their farms in the town of Sinjil, where residents say they've been enduring a settler violence campaign for two months. After Friday prayers, Musallet was among dozens of Palestinians driving back to their land in Sinjil when settlers surrounded them for three hours and attacked with guns, clubs and rocks, witnesses say.

Musallet was viciously beaten with sticks or clubs. For two hours after he was beaten, ambulances couldn't reach Musallet, as settlers roamed the area and the IDF refused to allow an ambulance to pass their roadblock, according to witnesses. Adhering to a typical pattern, the IDF focused its aggression on the Palestinians, firing tear gas at them. 

“They prevented the ambulance and allowed the settlers to do what they do anytime they want to,” Musallet's father Kamel Musallet told CNN. “I hold the Israeli military just as responsible as the settlers, and the American government for not doing anything about this. You know, why are you not telling the IDF? Why are you not preventing settler terrorism?” 

Settler violence and harassment against West Bank Muslims and Christians has been a problem for decades, but it has ramped up since the Oct 7 2023 invasion of Israel by Gaza's Hamas militants. According to a UN tally, almost 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or the IDF over that time span. 

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In an opinion piece published earlier this month, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemned settler violence, saying "Israel's real enemies are the violent, murderous terrorist militias that are...responsible for the murder of at least 140 West Bank Palestinians this year. Many of the dead were children." After the killing of Musallet, American Muslims for Palestine called for President Trump to intervene:

“Will he uphold his ‘America First’ promise when it’s a Palestinian-American whose life was taken? Or will he once again bow his head to Israel, no matter the cost in blood?”

According to his family, both of Musallet's grandfather's immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Teaming up with cousins, Musallet bought a Tampa ice cream shop where locals appreciated his generous scoops and readiness to replace dropped cones. “Everyone who met him fell in love with him,” his uncle told the Tampa Bay Times.

According to Middle East Eye, Huckabee's statement seemingly represented his first-ever condemnation of settler violence. Before Musallet's killing, Christians had been demanding that the demonstratively-religious Huckabee take action on behalf of his fellow Christians besieged by settlers in Taybeh, the last 100% Christian village in the West Bank.

Church leaders there have repeatedly called out to the world for help, saying, "We do not live in peace but in daily fear and siege...Since last October, more than 10 families have left Taybeh due to fear from ongoing violence and harassment." In addition to setting fire to houses and vehicles, settlers are also accused of stealing farm equipment, and destroying crops with fire or by releasing settlers' cattle to devour them, Catholic News Agency reports. Last week, they started a fire next to the cherished, 1,500-year-old Byzantine church of St. George al Khader, and burned a cemetery.

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Huckabee, a self-described "unreformed Zionist," has long taken zealously pro-Israel stances, to include endorsing Israelis' expansionist claims to the West Bank. For example, in one of his many trips to Israel over the years, Huckabee in 2017 said: 

"There is no such thing as a ‘West Bank,’ it’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.” 

His spotlight on Musallet's murder may boost the odds of justice being served. However, if history is any guide, there's very little chance of that happening. According to a database maintained by human rights group Yesh Din, out of 1,700 investigations into violence directed against West Bank Palestinians between 2005 and 2024, 93% of the cases were closed with no charges filed.