US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the West Bank on Saturday, condemning violence by Israeli settlers against residents and describing attacks on people and property as “acts of terror.”
Huckabee said illegally taking possession of property, burning vehicles, damaging mosques, and vandalizing homes went beyond ordinary criminal conduct.
“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,” Huckabee said.
“But it extends beyond a criminal act. It’s an act of terror,” he added.
Huckabee also raised concerns about American citizens living in Turmus Ayya and other West Bank communities. Americans account for a small percentage of the roughly 3 million Palestinians living in the territory.
“I’m very aware that a lot of the American people who live in Turmus Ayya and other communities across this region are not enjoying the life they deserve to live, not enjoying it in a peaceful way,” Huckabee said.
He said their lives were being disrupted by people responsible for actions that were both unfair and illegal.
The US Embassy does not have the authority to investigate crimes, Huckabee said, but can press the Israeli government to address them.
The embassy can tell its host government “there are needs that need to be addressed, there are issues that cannot go unnoticed,” Huckabee said.
He added that there were “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.”
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the actions of what he described as a “handful of rioters,” while the Foreign Ministry called the settlers’ actions “a disgrace.”
