Key facts
- U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the West Bank.
- The town's residents are predominantly U.S. citizens, and many have faced settler violence.
- Huckabee met with Palestinian Americans, including relatives of those killed in settler attacks.
- He condemned settler violence, calling perpetrators terrorists, but stated the U.S. embassy has limited direct power.
- A Palestinian American spokesperson argued that thousands of settlers, not hundreds, are involved in violence.
- At least six Palestinian Americans have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli military or settlers since 2024.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, where a significant portion of the Palestinian residents hold U.S. citizenship, to address concerns over rising settler violence. The visit occurred amid an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the region.
Huckabee met with Palestinian Americans, including relatives of individuals killed during settler-related incidents. He condemned the violence, labeling perpetrators as "terrorists" and urging the Israeli government to take action, stating it was in Israel's interest to address this "criminal behavior." He noted that a "tiny group of little marauders" were damaging the country's reputation.
However, Huckabee also informed the Palestinian American community that the U.S. embassy has no direct authority to take action and can only seek to influence and draw attention to issues the U.S. government deems necessary for correction. This statement was met with disagreement from Yasser Alkam, a Palestinian American spokesperson, who argued that thousands of settlers, not just hundreds, were involved and that the U.S. possessed the leverage to pressure Israel into arresting known perpetrators.
Among those who met Huckabee was Hadeel Jabara, whose husband, Omar, a U.S. legal permanent resident, was killed in June 2023 during a clash with settlers in Turmus Ayya. According to Israeli rights group B'Tselem, Omar was shot by Israeli border police officers at the scene. Jabara described the meeting as positive but expressed fear for her children's safety and hoped for U.S. government assistance in protecting residents.
Palestinians in the West Bank have experienced a surge in settler violence since the current Israeli government, described as the most right-wing in Israel's history, came to power in late 2022. The Israeli government has condemned such violence, but perpetrators are rarely arrested or prosecuted. In January 2025, President Donald Trump rescinded sanctions previously imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.