US Ambassador Mike Huckabee Condemns West Bank Settler Violence as Terror
United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank as terrorists following a multi-day siege on a Palestinian American family’s home that drew rare public rebuke from Washington.
The Siege in Qusra and the U.S. Response
The diplomatic friction centers on a sustained confrontation in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, located roughly 16 kilometers from Nablus. According to local officials and family members cited by CBC News, a group of up to dozens of young settlers gathered near a home under construction owned by Ohio resident Loui Ridi, throwing stones, damaging a nearby stone wall, and trapping occupants inside without adequate supplies.
Ambassador Huckabee addressed the situation directly in comments reported by Fox News, noting that the escalation began over a span of five to six days when settlers established a continuous presence outside the property. Huckabee stated that Israeli military and police forces intervened at the request of the U.S. Embassy to clear the area, describing the perpetrators as Israeli terrorists. In a post on X, he characterized the actions meant to intimidate and harass the family as a horrific act of terror and criminal thuggery.
The home’s owner, Loui Ridi, told CBC News from Ohio that his residence had faced targeting by settlers for months prior to the recent escalation. Qusai Abu Rida, who took shelter in the house with his teenage son to protect it, stated that the Israeli military eventually relocated them to another dwelling in the area, though movement remains severely restricted.
Diverging Perspectives and Official Reactions
The incident has exposed deep political divisions inside Israel regarding the management of West Bank outposts. A senior official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office distanced the government from the actions, stating that Israel does not accept vigilantes or violence by juvenile delinquents. According to the prime minister’s office, the Israel Defense Forces deployed an additional battalion to Judea and Samaria, registering over 350 investigations and 35 arrests in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
That official pushed back against drawing parallels between settler actions and Palestinian attacks, pointing to hundreds of incidents directed at Israelis during the same timeframe. Conversely, prominent Israeli columnist Nadav Eyal told Fox News Digital that an expanding political consensus across the Israeli spectrum views some of these West Bank actions as Jewish terrorism, noting that the phenomenon has grown increasingly widespread.
Local municipal leadership and international bodies have also registered alarm. Qusra Mayor Abed Al Athem Wadi reported that six homes in the village had been evacuated and taken over by Israeli soldiers, including three besieged hilltop residences. Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the actions as deliberately aimed at forcing residents from their land.
Military Enforcement and Regional Infrastructure
The Israel Defense Forces reported that troops dismantled two illegal outposts on the outskirts of Qusra and detained one individual, noting that soldiers have evacuated unauthorized outposts more than 150 times during the first half of 2026. Human rights monitors and foreign governments, including Canada, continue to monitor the humanitarian impact of these outposts, pointing to restricted roadway access and closed village entry points around Nablus.
