U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee again denounced violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, describing their attacks against Palestinians as acts of “terror.”
Huckabee has previously spoken out against settler violence, including after Israeli settlers attacked a home in the West Bank village of Qusra that was owned by an American citizen last month.
“If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a car, if they torch a mosque, if they go into someone’s home and vandalize it, paint graffiti on the walls, that’s a criminal act. But it extends beyond a criminal act. It’s an act of terror,” Huckabee said during a visit to the village of Turmus Ayya, where residents have reported frequent settler attacks over the past year. He clarified that his remarks were directed toward the U.S. citizens living among the Palestinians in the region.
Huckabee also emphasized that the U.S. Embassy does not have the authority to investigate criminal activity, but it can pressure the Israeli government to respond.
“We can tell our host government there are needs that need to be addressed, there are issues that cannot go unnoticed, and specific crimes and acts of terror that cannot continue without that country doing the investigation and adjudication that every person has a right to expect,” he said.
Days after Huckabee first spoke out, residents of the West Bank village of Bazariya said Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque and spray-painted a message on a wall reading, “Huckabee regards from the terrorists,” in Hebrew.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the actions of a “handful of rioters” last week. Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the settlers’ conduct as “a disgrace.”
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Settler violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. According to the United Nations, settler attacks against Palestinians exceeded 1,800 incidents in 2025.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities, a figure that includes those killed by Israeli settlers, while dozens of Israelis have also been killed.