U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday stood by his decision to label extremist West Bank settlers who terrorize Palestinians as “terrorists,” warning that their actions are damaging Israel and the Jewish people. At the same time, he rejected reports that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner clashed over the next stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
Huckabee first applied the term last week in a post on X while discussing extremists who have surrounded several homes in the West Bank village of Qusra. The group has repeatedly returned to the area despite efforts by the Israeli military to disperse them, apparently seeking to force the residents — one of whom is an American citizen — from their homes.
“I’ve been rebuked by people who said, ‘Well, that’s not terrorism,’” Huckabee said in an interview with Channel 12 news.
“But from the US definition of terror, when acts are conducted that cause people to change their behavior, and put them in fear for their lives, when things are done to people for the express purpose, whether they’re done to a nation, whether they’re done to a specific individual or to a family, but it causes them to be afraid to live their lives — that’s terror.”
The ambassador emphasized that those responsible represent “a very small minority” of Israelis. He also said that many do not actually reside in the West Bank, quipping, “they’re not settlers, they’re unsettlers.”
“They’re there to stir up trouble and the damage that they are doing to Israel, the damage they are doing to the Jewish people – I have no idea why they think that they’re accomplishing anything other than hurting the very people they claim to be fighting for,” he said.
Addressing the situation in Qusra specifically, Huckabee said he believed Israeli authorities were already “acting” against those involved, independent of any intervention from the U.S. Embassy. Ordinarily, he explained, “we don’t have a direct involvement if it doesn’t involve an American citizen.”
“But once it involves an American citizen, then our involvement is pretty much automatic and it’s going to be significant because that’s our job,” he said.
Asked whether he was troubled that Netanyahu had not publicly denounced what was happening in Qusra, amid reports that Washington had urged the prime minister to issue a condemnation, Huckabee responded, “What we’re looking for is responsible action.”
The confrontation in Qusra comes against the backdrop of a months-long increase in violence by extremist settlers, including almost daily incidents targeting Palestinians or their property. Arrests and prosecutions in connection with those attacks have remained relatively uncommon.
In a separate Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator in Yerushalayim has been involved in efforts to reduce tensions in the West Bank. Created in 2005, the USSC works to improve and strengthen Palestinian Authority security forces while encouraging their security coordination with Israel. Although personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria participate in the international mission, it operates under American leadership.
“We would like to see all those taking part in terror activities face grave consequences,” said Huckabee.
Huckabee also pushed back strongly against accounts suggesting Netanyahu and Kushner had a contentious exchange Monday over the future implementation of Trump’s Gaza initiative. He said Washington understands that Israel cannot be expected to withdraw further from Gaza while Hamas continues to possess weapons.
“Where do the people get this? I was in the room. I was a part of every conversation. That simply did not happen like that,” Huckabee said of the reported tensions during the Monday meeting.
“There was an agreement, and it was a good agreement, that we all want to see this [plan] move forward, but we also recognize that what the president has made clear is that Hamas must disarm, demilitarize, and they have no future in the governing of Gaza.”
Despite reports of frustration within the Trump administration over Israeli military operations in Gaza, Huckabee maintained that Israel “never backed away” from its support for President Trump’s broader 20-point framework for Gaza’s postwar future. He said Washington and Yerushalayim also remain aligned on Israel’s “right to defend itself.”
“Israel has always maintained, and the US has respected, that Israel has a right to defend itself. And if they have an imminent threat, they’re not expected to stand back and take it in the teeth. Nobody expects that of them,” he said.
Turning to the question of Israeli troop withdrawals, Huckabee said it has “been clearly understood that Israel is not expected to move their boundaries as long as Hamas has still got arms and RPGs and grenades. That’s the whole point of the disarmament.”
His comments came as Israel continued to raise objections to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament proposal. That framework calls for the IDF to gradually withdraw from portions of Gaza while Hamas simultaneously turns over its weapons. Netanyahu has rejected that sequence, maintaining that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas has been fully disarmed.
Although Huckabee portrayed the differences as limited, sources familiar with Monday’s talks have said that the question was not ultimately settled during Netanyahu’s meeting with Kushner in Yerushalayim.
One source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that after the Netanyahu-Kushner talks, the Board of Peace began considering an alternative formula under which Hamas would completely disarm and Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza. No final agreement on such an arrangement has been reached.
Huckabee also defended Kushner against criticism in Israel over the American envoy’s recent decision to meet senior Hamas officials in Cairo.
During his Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said Kushner “didn’t meet with them because he thought that he was dealing with honest brokers, but he needed to convey the message very clearly from the United States: You’ve got to disarm, demilitarize, and you have no future.”
In another interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Huckabee was questioned about the growing anti-Israel sentiment seen among segments of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States and whether Israeli policies had contributed to the trend.
“They cannot change the voices of people who are antisemitic and hate Israel,” the ambassador said.
“And a lot of this comes from the billions of dollars that’s being spent by the Muslim Brotherhood sponsored entities that fund all of these Middle East studies programs on American campuses,” he continued, while also accusing Russia and China of helping spread misinformation online.
Huckabee said one way to counter negative perceptions is to encourage more people to visit Israel themselves. He also argued that Israel needs to pursue a more forceful and effective public diplomacy campaign.
At the same time, he warned that Israelis themselves should avoid behavior that strengthens the arguments of Israel’s opponents.
“But he added: “Israelis have to be careful not to give ammunition to these critics.” The ambassador again pointed to violent extremists in the West Bank, saying their actions amounted to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”
“Why would you help your enemies hate you more?” Huckabee said.
{Matzav.com}
