U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on the government of Israel to "aggressively investigate" the killing of a Palestinian-American, who was allegedly beaten to death in clashes between Palestinians and Jewish settlers last Friday.

"I have asked Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death. There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old," Huckabee wrote in a post to X on Tuesday.

Huckabee referred to Mussallet by his nickname "Saif" in the statement that came after Mussallet's family asked the U.S. government to get involved.

"This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face," the Mussallet family said in a statement following the killing. "We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice."

According to the family, Saif Mussallet was visiting family in the Palestinian Territories over the summer, on a vacation from Tampa, Florida.

The comment by Huckabee appears to be his first official statement on the ongoing violence between settlers and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. Huckabee has long supported Israel's right to annex the territory, and has pushed back against those who challenge the rights of Israelis to live in the disputed territory.

By calling the killing a "murder" and a "criminal and terrorist act," Huckabee took an unusually strong tone, which could indicate that the administration of President Donald Trump is about to raise the issue of settler violence with the Israeli government.

The confrontation between the Israeli settlers and Palestinians near Sinjil occurred on Friday and lasted for several hours.

There are conflicting reports about how the incident began, with Jewish settlers at an illegal outpost overlooking Sinjil stating that a group of Palestinians approached the settlement on Friday morning and began throwing rocks at shepherds near the outpost, injuring several.

The conflict intensified after the settlers apparently called for help from other settlers, and the two sides began fighting each other, which lasted for several hours until security officials arrived and began to disperse the two groups.

The IDF released a statement on Friday night about the confrontation, which appeared to support claims of settlers that the incident started with Palestinians attacking settlers at the illegal outpost.

"Earlier today (Friday), terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli civilians adjacent to Sinjil. As a result, two Israeli civilians were lightly injured," the statement said.

"Shortly after, a violent confrontation developed in the area involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included vandalism of Palestinian property, arson, physical clashes, and rock hurling."

The IDF said it was "aware of reports regarding a Palestinian civilian killed and a number of injured Palestinians as a result of the confrontation, and they are being looked into by the ISA and Israel Police."

The military also said that its forces "used riot dispersal means in response to the violent confrontation, and all of the rioters dispersed."

According to Palestinian authorities, Mussallet was found beaten to death after the IDF dispersed the groups, and the body of another Palestinian, Mohammed al-Shalabi, was found with a gunshot wound and signs of beating.

As of Wednesday, no arrests have been made in the killings. Two Israeli minors were detained for questioning about the incident, but were later released to house arrest. According to Israeli media, they are not suspects in the deaths.

A reserve soldier was also questioned regarding shooting during the incident, but was also released afterward.

Israeli media report that the Palestinian authorities refused to hand over the bodies for the purpose of conducting an autopsy, which will likely negatively affect the investigation.

Eitan Fischberger, an Israeli independent writer who often carries out investigations of such incidents using "open source intelligence" (OSINT), noted that the Hamas terror group released a graphic honoring Mussallet, calling him a martyr.

The release of the graphic does not necessarily indicate membership in Hamas, as the terror group has been known to release similar graphics following the deaths of Palestinians not affiliated with the terror organization.

Another Israeli social media account, Gal G., Adv., operated by a lawyer in Israel who often posts about the situation in Judea and Samaria, noted that even Palestinian Authority-affiliated media agency Wafa said the Palestinian rioters had planned the attack on the illegal Jewish outpost, hoping to "remove an outpost."

Both Palestinian authorities and Jewish settlement leaders in the Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council are calling for a thorough investigation of the incident.

This allisreal.com report was republished with permission from All Israel News.