WASHINGTON

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Monday accused the Israeli government of responsibility in the killing of a Palestinian-American citizen in the occupied West Bank.

"The Israeli apartheid regime and its settler gangs have murdered yet another U.S. citizen in the West Bank, and our government does absolutely nothing," Tlaib said on the US social media company X’s platform.

Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old Palestinian-American born in Philadelphia, was shot and beaten in an attack by Israeli settlers in the village of Mukhmas in the West Bank last Wednesday. He succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in Ramallah later that night.

Witnesses reported that a group of approximately 50 illegal settlers raided the village to steal livestock. Abu Siyam was reportedly shot while attempting to defend a local farmer's sheep. They further alleged that after being shot, he was beaten by the settlers.

"Justice for Nasrallah Abu Siyam. Killings like this will keep happening until we stop funding genocide and apartheid," Tlaib said.

Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since launching its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinians view the escalation – including killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion – as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.