In a striking departure from his decades-long record as one of Israel’s most ardent settler advocates, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has denounced a group of Israeli settlers besieging a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank—calling their actions “criminal” and labeling the perpetrators “terrorists.”
The rare and forceful rebuke came after a mob laid siege to a house in the village of Qusra owned by an American citizen, trapping the owner’s brother and nephew inside without food or water for days.
Since Sunday, according to local officials and family members, settlers have gathered near the home in the village of Qusra and harassed those inside, defying efforts by the Israeli military to defuse the situation.
A group that has included up to dozens of men has thrown stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving despite dwindling supplies.
This is another lie. @usembassyjlm has been VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this. The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal. The WH hasn’t “intervened” because we have kept DC… https://t.co/qrfnCYcOtB
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) August 13, 2026
The settlers have reportedly stepped up their activity to push Palestinians out of their homes during the Gaza and Iran wars, and have drawn criticism from the UN and Western powers for violently attacking the residents.
According to the Associated Press the home’s owner Lou Ridi, speaking from Ohio, said his 48-year-old brother and nephew, who have been holed up in the home to defend it, had been unable to leave the house and did not have access to food or water for several days.
“We are prisoners in our own house, hostages in our own house,” he said.
Ridi said that settlers have been harassing his home for months before the situation escalated in recent days, saying they had cut off the water and electricity to his house and thrown stones, causing damage to the property as well as at least one more house in the area.
Journalists on the outskirts of Qusra said roads into the village were closed. Israeli police did not immediately respond to questions about whether any Israeli civilians had been arrested.
Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian Christian activist, called attention to a mob of Israeli settlers laying siege to the house in the West Bank village of Qusra, which is owned by an American citizen.
After first criticizing Huckabee and the U.S. Embassy for their alleged lack of interest, Hassan then described the White House as having “intervened” in the case. Huckabee rejected both charges as a “lie.” In clarifying the U.S. position on the matter, the outspoken pro-Israel ambassador made one of his most stringent condemnations of Israeli settler activity.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Huckabee said, “has been VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this. The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal.”
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He rejected Ihab’s characterization of the White House having “intervened” in the situation, “because we have kept DC apprised of the situation already.”
“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior,” Huckabee said, adding that claims he or the embassy “doesn’t care or hasn’t done anything is simply untrue.”
Huckabee’s post on X was an unusually sharp rebuke from a U.S. official, even as he defended the Israeli military’s response. Huckabee is a longtime ally of Israel’s settler movement and in the past has expressed support for Israeli control over the occupied West Bank while condemning settler violence.
Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians as clashes have surged in the last few years.
Here is evidence that @IDF & @israelpolice went to Qusra to remove illegal trespassers there to intimidate Palestinian residents. It’s just not accurate to say @Israel nor @usembassyjlm did nothing to protect Palestinian homeowners/US citizens. pic.twitter.com/UMKyHqdtFJ
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) August 13, 2026
The Palestinians seek the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of a future state. Many settlers and their supporters say the entire area should belong to Israel for historical, religious and security reasons.
Last month, a mosque in Qusra was set on fire in another apparent settler attack. That followed the killing of an Israeli settler, which triggered violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead.
Settlers have been building more outposts in an effort condemned by many in the international community as aimed at dismantling any remaining hopes of establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights office appealed on Thursday to Israeli authorities to help Palestinian families trapped in their homes by settlers for days, amid an intensifying campaign to seize their land.
The world body noted that the United States has been involved in efforts to end the siege that began on Sunday,
Three Palestinian families – around 15 people in total, including at least two children – have remained confined to their homes “in a state of terror” in the Ras al Ein area of Qusra village, south of Nablus, OHCHR said.
According to OHCHR, the settlers had cut their power and water.
“These criminal actions by the settlers, supported or acquiesced to by Israel, the Occupying Power, are making life unbearable for these Palestinian families and are clearly aimed at forcing them to leave their homes and their land,” the UN office said.
“Time is running out for these three families before they are forcibly displaced.”
The Israeli government has not specifically commented on the UN statement but reports said the Israel troops recently intervened to restore order. According to Israeli military, cited by AP, the troops had demolished “two illegal outposts” on the outskirts of Qusra and a nearby village, and detained one Israeli.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
Iftikhar Ali is a veteran Pakistani journalist, former president of UN Correspondents Association, and a recipient of the Pride of Performance civil award
