Family Of Murdered Palestinian American Teen Slams U.S. Response — Or Lack Thereof

The family of Tawfic Hafeth Abdeljabbar, the Palestinian American teen who was shot and killed in the West Bank last week, feel abandoned by their government.

Abdeljabbar, 17, was out with friends near al-Mazra’a Al Sharqiya village in Ramallah on Friday when Israeli settlers and military forces opened fire on his car, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine, an independent human rights organization specifically focused on child rights. It is still unclear who shot the bullets that killed him.

In Louisiana, Maher Salem, Abdeljabbar’s cousin, woke up Friday morning to condolences in a family WhatsApp chat. He kept scrolling up to see who had died. When he read his cousin’s name, he went into shock.

“I just lost my mind,” Salem said. “I don’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

Last year marked the deadliest on record for Palestinians in the West Bank. Before Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Israeli forces had killed 234 Palestinians , including 124 children, in the West Bank, according to the United Nations — with settlers being responsible for nine of those killings. So far this year, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinian children , including Abdeljabbar, in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP.

Abdeljabbar was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He and his family moved to the West Bank to reconnect with their Palestinian roots in the summer of 2023.

“He’s a very bright and humble kid,” Salem said, adding that his cousin was an avid football fan and cheered on his local New Orleans teams.

“Everybody loves him and he loves everybody,” Salem said. “He doesn’t have any grudge against anybody. Nobody whatsoever.”

A State Department spokesperson