Huckabee calls Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’: Can US push end Qusra siege?

The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has condemned settlers who are holding three families in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, near Nablus, under siege, as “Israeli terrorists”.

The siege comes as Israel’s military conducts raids in Jenin, blocking access to aid for Palestinians in the refugee camp on the fourth day of its assault.

So what did Huckabee say about settler violence in the West Bank and how significant is this?

Huckabee, a staunch ally of Israel who has voiced support for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite them being illegal under international law, made the unusually critical comments on Thursday, as Israeli settlers besieged three Palestinian homes in the village of Qusra, including one belonging to a dual US citizen.

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” Huckabee wrote in a post on X. “No excuse for such thuggish behaviour.”

He added that the US embassy has been “VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this”.

Huckabee posted a video of a convoy of Israeli military and police vehicles, saying they were removing “illegal trespassers there to intimidate Palestinian residents”.

US officials have long condemned settler violence towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in general terms but they have not deemed Israeli settlers’ actions “terror” or referred to them as “terrorists”.