Church Group Urges US Government to Investigate Killing of American Nasrallah Abu Siyam in the West Bank

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) mourns the killing of 19-year-old Palestinian American Nasrallah Abu Siyam, who was shot and killed by Israeli settlers during an attack on the village of Mukhmas in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, February 17th, 2026. According to witnesses and the Palestinian Health Ministry, a group of Israeli settlers entered the village and attacked a local farmer, prompting residents to intervene. Israeli forces later arrived on the scene, and during the ensuing violence, armed settlers fatally shot Abu Siyam and injured several others.

Nasrallah Abu Siyam is the first Palestinian killed by settlers this year, and at least the sixth American citizen to be killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since October 2023. His death underscores a deeply troubling and repeated pattern: the persistent lack of justice in Israeli investigations and court proceedings related to violence against Palestinians, alongside the failure of the United States government to pursue meaningful accountability for the killing of its own citizens abroad.

CMEP calls on the U.S. government to exert diplomatic pressure on the Government of Israel to conduct thorough, transparent, and credible investigations into this killing and other acts of settler violence targeting Palestinian and American community members. This must include concrete steps to curb such violence, including the imposition of sanctions on settlements, settler groups, and individuals responsible for or complicit in attacks against civilians, as well as the suspension of weapons shipments that could be used to arm or embolden settler militias.

The United States government has a duty to protect all of its citizens equally, regardless of ethnic or religious background. CMEP urges U.S. leaders to act swiftly and decisively to uphold justice, ensure accountability, and prevent further loss of life.

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Statement on the Killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam
###ABOUT CMEP

Formed in 1984, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of more than 30 national church communions and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical traditions that works to encourage US policies that actively promote a comprehensive resolution to conflicts in the Middle East with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. CMEP works to mobilize US Christians to embrace a holistic perspective and to be advocates of equality, human rights, security, and justice for Israelis, Palestinians, and all people of the Middle East.