WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined 30 of his colleagues in pressing the Trump administration for accountability and an investigation into the death of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, an American citizen who was shot and killed in the West Bank by violent Israeli settlers. Nasrallah is the ninth American citizen who has been killed in the West Bank since January 2022 – to date, no one has been held responsible for the deaths of any of these Americans.

In addition to Sen. Warner, the letter was signed by Sens. Van Hollen (D-MD), Murray (D-WA), Durbin (D-IL), Reed (D-RI), Cantwell (D-WA), Sanders (I-VT), Klobuchar (D-MN), Whitehouse (D-RI), Shaheen (D-NH), Merkley (D-OR), Bennet (D-CO), Coons (D-DE), Schatz (D-HI), Baldwin (D-WI), Murphy (D-CT), Hirono (D-HI), Heinrich (D-NM), Kaine (D-VA), Warren (D-MA), Markey (D-MA), Booker (D-NJ), Duckworth (D-IL), Smith (D-MN), Luján (D-NM), Warnock (D-GA), Welch (D-VT), Kim (D-NJ), Gallego (D-AZ), Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and Alsobrooks (D-MD).

“In the wake of the killing of another U.S. citizen in the West Bank, the ninth since January 2022, we write with grave concern regarding the ongoing lack of accountability for the deaths of Americans in the West Bank. On February 18th, Nasrallah Abu Siyam was shot and killed in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, near Ramallah, by violent Israeli settlers during an attack on Palestinian farmers. This is yet another example of the impunity afforded to extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces. The U.S. government must conduct a credible and independent investigation into Nasrallah’s killing and hold all perpetrators accountable,” wrote the senators.

“Unfortunately, this is the second letter we’ve written to this administration in the last seven months about the killing of an American citizen in the West Bank. […] In response to our letter, the State Department wrote ‘The United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad to help prevent future tragedies.’ It’s clear that these ‘calls’ and whatever efforts were made, if any, to secure accountability, failed. This has now become a consistent pattern in which Americans are being killed in the West Bank by settlers or the IDF without justice or accountability, despite promises from U.S. officials,” they continued.

The senators noted, “Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old American born in Philadelphia, has become the ninth American killed in the West Bank since January 2022. Along with Saifullah Musallet and Khamis Ayyada, a forty-year-old American citizen and father of five who died of smoke inhalation in August after a fire was set by Israeli settlers in his West Bank village of Silwad, Abu Siyam is now the third American killed in the West Bank during the second Trump administration.”

“For all nine of these killings, no one has yet been held accountable by the Netanyahu government, nor has the U.S. government upheld its duty to protect Americans and secure justice and accountability for their deaths. It is unclear to us how many more Americans must die in the West Bank in order for this administration, and other administrations, to take serious, credible steps to secure accountability and ensure an end to the ongoing killings of Americans without consequence,” they pressed.

“We urge you to launch an independent investigation into the killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam and provide an update on the status of investigations into the killings of all the other Americans killed in the West Bank since January 2022. We expect a briefing on this information by April 5, 2026,” they closed.

The full letter is available here and below. 

Dear Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Bondi, and Ambassador Huckabee:

In the wake of the killing of another U.S. citizen in the West Bank, the ninth since January 2022, we write with grave concern regarding the ongoing lack of accountability for the deaths of Americans in the West Bank. On February 18th, Nasrallah Abu Siyam was shot and killed in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, near Ramallah, by violent Israeli settlers during an attack on Palestinian farmers. This is yet another example of the impunity afforded to extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces. The U.S. government must conduct a credible and independent investigation into Nasrallah’s killing and hold all perpetrators accountable. 

Unfortunately, this is the second letter we’ve written to this administration in the last seven months about the killing of an American citizen in the West Bank. Our July 2025 letter was regarding the killing of Saifullah Kamal Musallet, a 20-year-old American citizen from Florida who was beaten to death by extremist Israeli settlers. Since that letter, two other Americans have been killed as a result of Israeli settler violence. In response to our letter, the State Department wrote “The United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad to help prevent future tragedies.” It’s clear that these “calls” and whatever efforts were made, if any, to secure accountability, failed. This has now become a consistent pattern in which Americans are being killed in the West Bank by settlers or the IDF without justice or accountability, despite promises from U.S. officials. 

Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old American born in Philadelphia, has become the ninth American killed in the West Bank since January 2022. Along with Saifullah Musallet and Khamis Ayyada, a forty-year-old American citizen and father of five who died of smoke inhalation in August after a fire was set by Israeli settlers in his West Bank village of Silwad, Abu Siyam is now the third American killed in the West Bank during the second Trump administration. 

Six other Americans were killed in the West Bank since January 2022. This includes a 14-year-old boy from New Jersey, Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee, who was shot 11 times, and two 17-year-old boys, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar and Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour, both shot and killed in separate instances. Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old American citizen raised in Seattle, was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier, and respected Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, was also shot in the head and killed by the IDF while clearly marked as a journalist. Omar Assad, an elderly Palestinian-American, died of a stress-induced heart attack after being gagged, blindfolded, bound with his hands behind his back, and left on the ground in the cold.

For all nine of these killings, no one has yet been held accountable by the Netanyahu government, nor has the U.S. government upheld its duty to protect Americans and secure justice and accountability for their deaths. It is unclear to us how many more Americans must die in the West Bank in order for this administration, and other administrations, to take serious, credible steps to secure accountability and ensure an end to the ongoing killings of Americans without consequence.

We urge you to launch an independent investigation into the killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam and provide an update on the status of investigations into the killings of all the other Americans killed in the West Bank since January 2022. We expect a briefing on this information by April 5, 2026.