Nasrallah Abu Siam was 19 years old, a dual Palestinian-American citizen, and he was trying to stop Israeli settlers from stealing sheep when they shot and killed him. He died in the village of Mukhmas, north of occupied Jerusalem, on February 18 — one of at least nine Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2026 as of that date, including two children.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the killing and called for a “prompt, thorough and transparent” investigation. His spokesman Stéphane Dujarric noted to reporters that Nasrallah’s father, Abdelhamid Siam, is a member of the press corps at UN Headquarters. According to the UN’s own reporting, Guterres also urged Israel to “take concrete steps to halt and prevent all acts of violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population” in line with its obligations as the occupying power.

Witnesses described settlers arriving at Mukhmas, throwing rocks at residents, and then opening fire. Settlers were filmed stealing more than 200 sheep. Three other Palestinians were shot in the same attack; one was in critical condition. The US State Department issued a rare comment, confirming the death of a US citizen and saying it “expects a full, thorough, and transparent investigation.” No such investigation has been announced.

The killing is not an anomaly. The UN recorded 1,828 settler attacks in 2025 — the highest annual total since 2006. Since January 2023, more than 880 Palestinian families — over 4,700 people — have been displaced across the West Bank due to settler attacks and access restrictions. Israel’s military data shows a 27 percent rise in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the year before. Roughly 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank under Israeli civil law; the approximately 3 million Palestinians who share that territory live under Israeli military law.

Nasrallah Abu Siam was an American citizen. He was killed protecting his community from theft. His killers — settlers who operate under effective immunity granted by Israeli law and US silence — have not been named or charged.