US envoy calls Israeli settler siege of West Bank homes ‘act of terror’

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - JERUSALEM — US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has said a days-long siege of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers amounts to “terror”.

Huckabee, a staunch ally of Israel who has voiced support for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, made the unusually critical comments on Thursday, after Israeli settlers besieged three Palestinian homes in the village of Qusra near Nablus, including one belonging to a dual US citizen.

Huckabee said his embassy had asked Israel to remove the settlers, describing them as "Israeli terrorists".

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” Huckabee wrote in a post on X. “No excuse for such thuggish behavior.”

Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian families inside their homes in the occupied West Bank, cutting off water and electricity in a campaign residents described as an attempt to steal their land.

The situation in Qusra first began on Sunday when settlers blocked the road to the Palestinian families' gates and cut off their power and water supplies. The first Israeli soldiers who came to the site prayed with the settlers – an act for which the Israel military later said they would be disciplined.

On Wednesday an attempt by Israeli security forces to dislodge the settlers led to confrontations with a bigger group and ultimately failed.

Security camera footage from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, on Wednesday shows Israeli settlers surrounding one of the houses.

Trapped residents said Israeli soldiers had failed to disperse the settlers despite intervening earlier in the day.

Palestinian residents describe the siege as an attempt by the settlers to seize their land.

The Times of Israel reported that Israeli forces and police attempted to “evacuate the settlers” early on Thursday after a previous failed effort the day before. The settlers, who have used rocks and tents to block the Palestinian homes, remained in the area as of Thursday morning, according to the report.

The case is the latest to draw attention to the relative impunity of settlers and how Israeli forces are struggling to deal with rising settler violence.

The Israeli military says it will deploy additional troops to the occupied West Bank after failing to force away Israeli settlers who have trapped two Palestinian families in their homes since Sunday.

Videos shared from Qusra overnight show a dozen Israeli security vehicles – including a bulldozer.

In later footage – filmed in the daylight – there is a long line of Israeli security forces on the road to the Palestinian village, which remains a closed military zone.

Loai Ridi, an American-Palestinian who owns a house in the village, said his brother Qusai Abu Rida and 18-year-old nephew, Ahmed, were among those trapped.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Toledo in the US, he said the family was relying on a temporary solar power system and leftover well water from the winter after supply lines were cut.

“He [Qusai Abu Rida] does not want to leave the home. Because if he leaves the home, the settlers will take over immediately,” Ridi said.

Aisha Abu Rida, a Palestinian besieged in the town, vowed “not [to] leave our home, no matter what happens”, in comments to Al Jazeera.

Huckabee, however, also defended Israeli authorities, saying they had gone to Qusra at the request of the US embassy “to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this”. The US ambassador shared footage appearing to show Israeli tanks rolling into the West Bank town.

Israel’s military on Thursday said its forces had dismantled “two illegal outposts … on the outskirts of the Qusra and Jalud areas” of the occupied West Bank, confiscated equipment and detained one Israeli.

Israeli settlers regularly attack Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, sometimes in the presence of Israeli forces who have been accused of backing the settlers.

Violence and land seizures in the Palestinian territory have intensified in recent months, with settlers emboldened by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has overseen a rapid expansion of settlement construction in the territory.

Qusra has faced a string of recent attacks, including the burning of a newly built mosque last month.

In the neighboring village of Jalud, a similar two-week siege in July forced two Palestinian families off their land before settlers took over the property.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are considered illegal under international law, alongside roughly three million Palestinians. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967.