US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has issued a stern warning to militant Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. He condemned their actions of stealing property from Palestinian Americans, labeling such behavior as “a violation of God’s law.” Huckabee’s remarks underscore ongoing tensions surrounding property rights in the region, highlighting the complex dynamics between settlers and Palestinian communities.
Israeli police have not announced any arrests or charges against any settler allegedly involved in besieging the Palestinian homes, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly commented on the incident. Ridi, speaking to Reuters from his home in Qusra on Thursday, said he was in contact with Huckabee’s staff at the US embassy in Jerusalem but that he continued to be harassed by Israeli settlers near his property. The case has drawn international condemnation. “I think the message is bigger than just even the Trump administration. “If someone owns the land and they own their house, then having someone come and take it over and scare the family away from it, that’s a violation, not just of man’s law. A senior settler leader has, however, condemned the actions of the settlers.
Israeli settlers began encircling homes in Qusra on August 9, in what rights groups said was an attempt to seize privately owned Palestinian land.
Huckabee, a Baptist minister and longtime supporter of Israel’s settlements, told Reuters in an interview that settlers found to have taken part in a siege of homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, including one belonging to Palestinian American Loui Ridi, could be punished with US sanctions. Asked what message US President Donald Trump’s administration had for settlers considering taking homes or land in the West Bank owned by Palestinian Americans, Huckabee, who last week denounced the perpetrators as “Israeli terrorists”, referred to Jewish and Christian scripture. It’s a message of basic civility and civilised behaviour,” Huckabee told Reuters in Jerusalem. That’s a violation of God’s law,” said Huckabee, a Republican former governor of the US state of Arkansas.
