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

The United States 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.

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Palestinian residents say they have been cut off from water, electricity and other critical supplies during the siege, which they describe as an attempt by the settlers to seize their land.

“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 behaviour.”

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.

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.

Nida Ibrahim, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the occupied West Bank, said the village of Qusra “in general is under siege”.

“We are trying to get to Qusra through the roads. But every single entrance to Qusra is blocked by the Israeli army. And that is usually done to prevent other Palestinians from trying to come and offer help to these families,” she said.

“So not only are we talking about three families trapped in their homes, but we are also talking about a whole village that is under siege because of something they did not do.”

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 sits in Area B of the occupied West Bank, nominally under Palestinian civil administration. The village has faced a string of recent attacks, including the burning of a newly built mosque last month.

In the neighbouring 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.

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