Senators demand investigation after ninth American killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in West Bank

"This has now become a consistent pattern in which Americans are being killed in the West Bank by settlers or the [Israel Defense Forces (IDF)] without justice or accountability, despite promises from US officials, the lawmakers wrote in the Wednesday letter, which was shared exclusively with the Guardian."

"Nasrallah Abu Siyam, born in Philadelphia, was shot on 18 February in the West Bank village of Mukhmas during an attack on Palestinian farmers by a group of masked settlers. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers present did not intervene, provide medical assistance or make any arrests."

"The letter, led by the senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and addressed to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the US attorney general, Pam Bondi; and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, asks for a US-led investigation and a full accounting of where all nine cases stand, and for the administration to brief Congress on the killing by 5 April."

More than 30 Democratic and independent senators have sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding an independent investigation into the February killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old American from Philadelphia, in the West Bank. Abu Siyam was shot during an attack by masked settlers on Palestinian farmers, with Israeli soldiers present but not intervening or providing medical assistance. This killing represents the ninth death of a US citizen by Israeli soldiers or settlers since 2022, with none resulting in criminal convictions. The senators, led by Chris Van Hollen, characterize this as a consistent pattern of killings without justice or accountability and request a full accounting of all nine cases and a congressional briefing by April 5. Notably, Pennsylvania's senators, including Democrat John Fetterman, a vocal Israel supporter, did not sign the letter.

Read at www.theguardian.com