Huckabee condemns settler siege of Palestinian homes

The U.S. ambassador to Israel sharply condemned Israeli settlers who have besieged Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, calling the days-long blockade a “horrific act of terror” after families said they were trapped without access to food, water and other supplies.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of Israel and its settler movement, wrote on X that the actions were “meant to intimidate and harass this family” and were “disgusting.” He added: “No excuse for such thuggish behaviour.”

Local officials and family members said settlers began gathering near homes in Qusra on Sunday, including one owned by an American Palestinian, and prevented residents from leaving. The village is near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The group, which included up to dozens of men, threw stones, tried to bring down a nearby stone wall and used rocks and tents to block access to the homes, according to accounts cited by NPR and Al Jazeera.

Loai Ridi, an American Palestinian who owns one of the homes, said from Ohio that his brother, Qusai Abu Rida, and 18-year-old nephew, Ahmed, were trapped inside. He told NPR that the pair had been unable to leave and lacked access to food or water for several days. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Toledo, Ridi said the family was relying on temporary solar power and leftover well water from the winter after supply lines were cut.

“He does not want to leave the home. Because if he leaves the home, the settlers will take over immediately,” Ridi said of his brother. He told NPR: “We are prisoners in our own house, hostages in our own house.”

On Thursday morning, Qusai Abu Rida said he and his teenage son had been evacuated by the Israeli military, NPR reported. It was unclear what would happen to the property and at least one other targeted home.

Huckabee also defended Israeli authorities, saying they had gone to Qusra at the request of the U.S. Embassy “to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this.” The Israeli military said Thursday that its troops had dismantled “two illegal outposts” on the outskirts of Qusra and nearby Jalud, confiscated equipment and detained one Israeli. It said additional soldiers had been sent to the area to conduct “defensive missions and patrols.”

The Times of Israel, cited by Al Jazeera, reported that Israeli forces and police tried to evacuate the settlers early Thursday after a failed effort the previous day, but that settlers remained in the area as of Thursday morning. Israeli police did not immediately respond to NPR’s questions about whether any Israeli civilians had been arrested.

Journalists on the outskirts of Qusra said roads into the village were closed. Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim reported that “every single entrance to Qusra is blocked by the Israeli army,” saying the closures prevented other Palestinians from reaching the families.

Palestinians and Israel’s opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government of turning a blind eye to settler attacks, which have increased in recent years. Al Jazeera reported that Qusra is in Area B of the West Bank and has faced a string of recent attacks, including the burning of a newly built mosque last month. NPR reported that the mosque fire followed the killing of an Israeli settler, which triggered violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, alongside about three million Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war. Palestinians seek it as part of a future state, while many settlers and their supporters say the territory should belong to Israel for historical, religious and security reasons.