‘My son was an American; where is your ‘America First’ now?’: Father of slain Palestinian-American asks Trump

Kamel Musallet, whose 23-year-old son Sayfollah was beaten to death by illegal Israeli settlers under heavy police protection last week, has said the silence from President Trump and other American officials exposes a painful double standard.

“If he’d been Israeli-American, they’d be on top of it. But because he’s Palestinian-American, it’s like two different worlds,” Kamel told the Zeteo media outlet in an interview that was published on Tuesday.

Palestinian-American protester cudgeled to death in West Bank by army-backed illegal settlers

A Palestinian-American protester is beaten to death by the Israeli regime’s settlers waging deadly violence, under the Israeli army’s deliberate inaction.

He questioned why Trump, who often touts “America First,” had not lifted a finger for an American killed abroad, with him and Vice President JD Vance rather spending the weekend at a soccer match and Disneyland respectively.

The comments came as, more than three days since the killing, no one from either the White House or Congress has contacted the Florida family, who have received no more than routine consular condolences.

Kamel further pressed, “When does this stop? Why are these people not [held] accountable?” citing that seven Americans had been killed by Israeli forces or settlers over the past 21 months.

Florida’s Republican senators, Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, have not commented. The only direct response from Musallet’s elected officials came from Democratic Representative Kathy Castor, who issued a brief statement expressing heartbreak and urging the administration to safeguard Americans abroad, without naming who killed Musallet.

The victim was killed on July 11 near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, when Israeli settlers violently attacked Palestinian protesters opposing the establishment of an illegal outpost in Area B -- a zone where settlement construction is prohibited under Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

According to Drop Site News, an American investigative outlet, the attack also left another protester, Muhammad Rizq Hussein al-Shalabi, fatally wounded by gunfire.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed his death and reported that at least 10 additional Palestinians had been injured during the incident.

Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, described settlers ramming a protester with a vehicle and smashing ambulance windows.

Israeli forces arrived, but did not arrest anyone, reflecting a common pattern of inaction in response to settler violence across the West Bank.

Just one day prior, Palestinian-American journalist Said Arikat, correspondent for al-Quds newspaper in Washington, D.C., had questioned the US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce about protections available for Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans facing settler attacks.

Bruce declined to provide specific contact points, instead stating that “thousands of people” at the department “care deeply” about the issue and recommended victims contact the Israeli regime, citing Tel Aviv as an ally.

When asked if the US would explicitly condemn attacks on Palestinian communities, Bruce gave only a general expression of concern about violence “by any party.”

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