New Actor: US Ambassador Calls Settler Violence 'acts

In a visit to Turmus Ayya on Sept. 5, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called recent West Bank settler attacks “acts of terror” and said those who torch mosques, burn cars or seize property are terrorists. He said Israel’s government is responsible for Palestinians’ safety and that perpetrators should face severe consequences.

He met Palestinian American residents in the town of roughly 4,000, where about 80 percent hold US citizenship, gathering at the home of Samir Hazmeh. Hazmeh said settlers twice smashed the house’s windows and tried to set it on fire, and that he put up barbed wire and an American flag to deter attacks. During the meeting, a settler from a nearby outpost approached the area on a quad bike.

Huckabee told residents the embassy cannot investigate crimes but will press Israeli authorities to act. He said a few hundred settlers are behind the violence; Yasser Alqam, who said he cannot reach his land 100 meters away after repeated attacks, argued the number is far higher and urged the United States to push for arrests.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources