US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited Turmus Aya, a Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday, meeting with local officials and residents, including Palestinian Americans who have experienced settler violence firsthand.
Huckabee said the Israeli government has a "responsibility" to ensure the safety of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank following a sharp rise in settler attacks.
"One of the messages that we have been sending and we will continue to send is that people in these communities have a right to live with a level of security and safety, and that the government has a responsibility to make sure that happens," Huckabee told reporters.
Speaking further, he said: "Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror. When people do it, they should have an expectation that they will have severe consequences."
Huckabee also labelled some of the settlers committing violence as "terrorists" and said it was in the Israeli government's interests to take action against them.
Among those who met with the ambassador was Ruwan Alqam, a US-Palestinian woman who relocated to Turmus Aya from Texas with her family four months ago.
Alqam described a pattern of harassment whenever her family leaves home. "We're hit with roadblock after roadblock, settlers after settlers," she said. On a recent day trip to Nablus, the family was unable to return home after Israeli settlers attacked their car with rocks.
"They're not being held accountable for their actions – endangering Palestinians is a fun activity for them," Alqam said of the settlers, describing the violence as "not a minority" among Israelis. She said Huckabee was "very receptive" to residents' accounts, adding: "We are in desperate need of attention here."
Residents also conveyed a broader message through the visit. According to a reporter on the ground, those present "want the US ambassador to relay the message that this is systematic violence being practised against Palestinians, that it's continuing and that they need actual change." Settlers in the area were reported to have written slogans not only against Palestinians but also against Huckabee himself.
A former Israeli ambassador, Alon Pinkas, offered a measured assessment of the visit's significance. He told reporters that the trip was "largely symbolic … because his visit, as much as it is covered by the media, is not going to change American policy."
Pinkas acknowledged that Huckabee's use of the word "terrorists" to describe violent settlers was a "clear message," particularly given that Huckabee is an evangelical Christian who "believes in the Jewish rights over the West Bank." However, Pinkas said the Trump administration "doesn't seem to care enough" about settler violence or Palestinian rights to "actually pressure the Israeli government."
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, described as the most right-wing in Israel's history, took office in late 2022.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. Israel has continued to advance settlement construction, including a plan for 627 new settler units in the occupied territory.
