US envoy on West Bank visit says Israel has responsibility for Palestinians

TURMUS AYYA (Palestinian Territories), Sept 5 — The US ambassador said Saturday that Israel’s government bore responsibility for West Bank Palestinians’ safety and should impose “severe consequences” over violence, as he visited families following a surge in attacks by settlers.

Mike Huckabee, long known as a staunch supporter of Israel and settlers, toured the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, home to a large Palestinian-American community, and said he wanted to hear their “legitimate grievances”.

As the ambassador met families inside a finely manicured old house, a settler from a nearby illegal outpost approached nearby in a quad bike.

“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 that happens,” Huckabee said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinian residents has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, but recent months have seen a surge in attacks.

Huckabee stopped short of criticising Israel by name but called for action against the violence, which he insisted was the work of a small minority of settlers.

“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 said.

He said that taking action was in the “best interest” of Israel, which already faces growing criticism around the world, including in key ally the United States, over the devastating offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

“Their reputation does not do well when it appears that this tiny little group of marauders are somehow representative of the larger population. I don’t believe that it is,” Huckabee said.

“There may be a few hundred who are responsible, but that’s a few hundred too many,” Huckabee said.

Some half a million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, home to three million Palestinians.

In the run-up to October 27 elections Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been ramping up approval of new settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Despite Huckabee’s dismissal of violent settlers, Netanyahu has brought into his government far-right ministers who have openly mused about expelling the Palestinian population.

Huckabee also denied that Israel was planning to force Palestinians out of Gaza, after Israeli ministers spoke of a plan to expel them.

‘Thou shalt not steal’ 

Incidents take place nearly daily with settlers attacking Palestinians, taking their crops or livestock or seeking to force them off of their land.

Speaking of violence by settlers, Huckabee said, “I think the Scripture is pretty clear — Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt not even covet.”

Huckabee earlier intervened when settler extremists camped out and blocked basic supplies from reaching another Palestinian-American in the town of Qusra last month, leading to rare condemnation by Netanyahu of settlers.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor and former governor of Arkansas, has long cited his faith to back Israel.

Before being tapped by President Donald Trump as ambassador Huckabee even declined to use the term Palestinian, which he now uses.

Huckabee continues to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, a biblical term used by Israel.

“The reason I use the terms Judea and Samaria is because they are the ancient biblical terms of this land. Eighty percent of the Bible happened in the era of Judea and Samaria. The West Bank is a nebulous term to me,” Huckabee said. — AFP