US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee , known for his support of settlements, warned on Saturday of “serious consequences” for violence perpetrated by settlers in the occupied West Bank, during a meeting with Palestinian Americans who reported being attacked by Israeli settlers.
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“Our message is clear: a crime is a crime, and terrorism is terrorism. Those who commit such acts should expect to face severe consequences,” Huckabee told reporters during a visit to the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, which has a large American population. He refrained from criticizing Israel.
The ambassador said, “One of the messages we are sending, and will continue to send, is that the residents of these communities have the right to live in safety, and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that this is achieved.”
Huckabee said: “When you try to create an environment where people feel uncomfortable in their own homes, their children play in their own gardens, and they feel unsafe or insecure because of the behavior, actions, and intimidation of others, that is terrorism by any definition, whether in law or otherwise.”
He added that the settlers' acts of violence are "criminal and terrorist," claiming that those who commit them are "small in number" compared to the total population in those areas.
He also denied the existence of a plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, after two Israeli ministers floated ideas on how to expel two million people from the devastated and stricken territory.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated, “I can assure you unequivocally that the Israelis have no plan for the forced displacement of the people of Gaza.”
On Thursday, Israel’s extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a plan aimed at the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the population, numbering about two million people, during the next six years.
His remarks came a day after Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel was prepared to transfer Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land, but was waiting for the United States, noting that the latter was looking into the destination of the population transfer.
Katz said, without specifying the source he relied on, that 80 percent of Gaza’s residents want to leave, but Hamas is preventing them from doing so.
Huckabee said that President Donald Trump's administration, which has made combating immigration a central priority, wants to give Palestinians the option of leaving voluntarily.
He added, “There is an openness if people wish to leave; they should have the right to leave,” describing the “imprisonment” of Palestinians inside Gaza as a “disgrace.”
He continued, “No one is suggesting that there should be forced displacement, neither the Israelis nor the Americans. I don’t know anyone who supports that.”
The forced displacement of civilians in occupied territories is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinians with American citizenship in the town of Turmus Ayya placed the ambassador in front of a picture of the attacks and acts they described as terrorist acts carried out against them by settlers.
Citizen Samir Jumaa Hazma, who hosted the ambassador in his home, said the visit came at the request of Huckabee, following a series of calls from residents who complained about settler attacks.
He added that he received the ambassador at his home, which had previously been attacked by settlers, including breaking windows and attempting to set fire to the gate and the house, and briefed him on the protection measures taken.
He continued: “We will see the impact of the visit and the possibility of protecting American citizens as they are protected all over the world,” noting that about 90 percent of the town’s residents are American citizens.
While the ambassador was listening to the residents' complaints, two Israeli settlers riding an electric bicycle performed a stunt a few dozen meters away from the house that hosted him, according to eyewitnesses.
For his part, Nawaf Zaghloul, the mayor of Turmus Ayya, said that most of the town’s residents hold American citizenship and “want to convey their message today.”
He added in his speech: “We are subjected every day to attacks and terrorism from the settlers. They burn houses and prevent landowners from accessing 18,000 dunams.
He explained that several settlements were established on the town's land, including the Shilo settlement, whose settlers carry out repeated attacks on the town.
On Friday, Huckabee reiterated his description of settlers who carry out attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank as “terrorists,” and that they “damage Israel’s image.”
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