A young Palestinian man with American citizenship was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the village of Mikhmas near Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Wednesday, while the American embassy condemned the violence amid international and human rights data documenting the escalation of settler attacks and the scarcity of holding them accountable in the West Bank since the Gaza War.

Published on: 02/20/2026 - 04:48

A 19-year-old Palestinian man with American citizenship died of his wounds after an Israeli settler shot him in the village of Mikhmas near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which announced his death late Wednesday.

According to Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siam’s relatives, a group of settlers stormed the village to try to steal sheep, and when the villagers, including the dead man, sought to prevent them, the settlers opened fire, wounding Abu Siam and a number of residents.

The Palestinian News Agency "Wafa" indicated that the attack resulted in the injury of five people, including three by live bullets, without providing additional details about the other cases.

On the American side, a US embassy official condemned the violence, telling Reuters on Thursday that "the US State Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens abroad." The young man's killing comes in the context of repeated incidents targeting American citizens in the West Bank at the hands of occupation forces or settlers over the past two years.

At the level of numbers, United Nations data indicate that settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank have escalated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza War in October 2023, indicating the displacement of nearly 700 people due to settler attacks in 2026, and the killing of 9 Palestinians in the West Bank this year compared to 240 in 2025, while two Israelis were killed in the West Bank in 2025.

Human rights data show that accountability remains an exception, as the Israeli organization Yesh Din clarified at the end of 2025 that only about 2% of the hundreds of settler violence cases it documented since October 7, 2023 ended with indictments, at a time when names emerged among the victims such as the American activist Aisha Nur Ezgi Egi.

France 24/Reuters

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