Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization notes that Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 10 Americans since 2022
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling on the Trump administration to launch an independent U.S. investigation into the killing of a 19-year-old American citizen from Philadelphia by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and hold those responsible accountable.
On. Feb. 19th, Israeli settlers attacked the occupied West Bank village of Mukhmas in the presence of Israeli occupation soldiers, shooting and killing American citizen Nasrallah Abu Siyam, who was born in Philadelphia and whose family lives in New Jersey. He is at least the ninth American citizen killed by Israeli settlers or occupation soldiers since 2024.
SEE: READ THE FULL LETTER
SEE:Israeli settlers kill 19-year-old Palestinian-American, officials and witnesses say
In a statement, CAIR Governor Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“Putting America First means holding foreign governments and foreign militants accountable when they murder American citizens. At least nine American citizens have been murdered by the Israeli military or illegal Israeli settlers since 2024.
“Both the Biden and Trump administration have refused to hold Israel accountable for these murders, which is why they continue to happen. Abu Siyam must be the last American, not the latest American, murdered by Israelis who face no justice or accountability.””
Last year, CAIR sent a letter to the Justice Department calling on it to pursue criminal charges against the Israelis responsible for killing American citizens. The Department responded with a letter to CAIR that incorrectly claimed the U.S. government lacks the legal authority to prosecute Americans murdered overseas.
Other Americans killed by Israel include:
• Sayfollah Musallet, an American beaten to death by Israeli settlers in Sinjil in 2025;
• Khamis al-Ayyad, American killed by smoke inhalation after a settler attack that set homes and vehicles ablaze in 2025;
• Omar Mohammad Rabea, a 14-year-old American shot by an Israeli soldier who died after being denied timely medical treatment in 2025;
• Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, an American activist shot by an Israeli sniper during a peaceful West Bank protest in 2024;
• Tawfiq Ajaq, a 17-year-old American fatally shot by an off-duty Israeli police officer in 2024;
• Mohammad Khdour, a 17-year-old American shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in 2024;
• Jacob Flickinger, an American aid worker with World Central Kitchen killed in a 2024 airstrike in Gaza.
• Shireen Abu Akleh, an American journalist shot by an Israeli sniper in 2022 while clearly identified as press;
• Omar Assad, an 80-year-old American who died after being bound and abandoned by Israeli soldiers in 2022;
• Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American human rights defender killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003;
In its letter to the State Department and Justice Department today, CAIR said in part:
“The United States must use its full authority and its close relationship with Israel to conduct an independent U.S. investigation into this killing, particularly given the Israeli government’s well-documented pattern of distorting facts, fabricating narratives, and ultimately exonerating itself, its soldiers, and illegal settlers, even in cases involving the killing of American Palestinian Muslim and Christian citizens.
“In a similar case last September, CAIR and CAIR-Chicago called on your offices to investigate and hold accountable the illegal Israeli settlers responsible for murdering U.S. citizen Khamis Ayyad, a Cicero, Illinois resident and father of five.
“This killing was not only a brutal murder but, in the legal sense, an act of terrorism carried out by illegal settlers who have for years terrorized Palestinian communities, including American citizens, with impunity. These violent, politically motivated attacks, often enabled by the Israeli government and military, are part of a broader effort to forcibly seize Palestinian land. The United States has both the legal authority and treaty mechanisms to investigate this crime.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com