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Washington, DC \u2013<\/strong> After Israeli settlers killed 19-year-old United States citizen Nasrallah Abu Siyam in the occupied West Bank last week, the US Department orf State said it \u201chas no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans\u201d.<\/p>\n But, as the number of US citizens killed by Israel continues to mount, rights advocates say Washington\u2019s failure to ensure accountability is driving a deadly cycle of impunity.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Abu Siyam, who was shot dead in the village of Mikhmas near Jerusalem, is among at least 11 US citizens killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers since 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a joke. I don\u2019t take these people seriously,\u201d William Asfour, Chicago chapter coordinator for American Muslims for Palestine, said of the US government\u2019s response to the latest killing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is true, we would stop supplying Israel with weapons. We would hold these settlers, these terrorists, accountable. We would sanction them. We would have a weapons embargo.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Asfour helped lead calls for an independent, US-led investigation into the July killing of Khamis Ayyad, a father of five from Chicago, in a settler attack in the West Bank.<\/p>\n But the US Department of Justice has not opened a probe into Ayyad\u2019s death, and no one in Israel has faced charges over the incident.<\/p>\n Similarly, there have been no charges for the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Florida man who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers last year.<\/p>\n Other cases \u2013 going back to Rachel Corrie, a peace activist who was run over by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 \u2013 have followed a similar pattern: US officials initially express concern but do not take decisive action to seek justice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a terrible cycle. We just continue to see how dehumanised we are,\u201d Asfour, who is Palestinian American, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you truly cared about American citizens, whether domestically or abroad, you would take necessary actions. You can talk all you want, but we want to see action.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates say Washington could compel accountability simply by leveraging the large sums of aid it sends to Israel. The US has provided Israel with more than $21bn over the past two years alone.<\/p>\n But US President Donald Trump has shown little indication that he plans to sanction Israel or suspend assistance.<\/p>\n Rather, he said last May that it would not be his job to \u201cuse US policy to dispense justice\u201d abroad, and he has moved to lift existing penalties against Israeli citizens.<\/p>\n Shortly after returning to the White House last year, Trump revoked sanctions against violent settlers involved in well-documented abuses against Palestinians, including US citizens.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has also been a staunch defender of Israeli policies, while exerting little pressure \u2013 at least publicly \u2013 to ensure the protection of American citizens.<\/p>\n For example, over the past week, Huckabee shared more than 40 posts on the social media platform X, many of them amplifying pro-Israel and anti-Muslim activists.<\/p>\n Some also defended Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza. But none mentioned the shooting of Abu Siyam.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Mike Huckabee\u2019s role<\/h2>\n