U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has strongly condemned what he described as a prolonged siege by Jewish settlers targeting the West Bank home of an American Palestinian family, calling the incident a “horrific act of terror.”
According to local officials and relatives, the confrontation began Sunday, when groups of settlers gathered outside the family’s home in the village of Qusra and repeatedly harassed those inside, despite attempts by the Israeli military to calm the situation.
Family members said that at times dozens of settlers surrounded the property, throwing rocks, attempting to tear down a nearby stone wall, and blocking the residents from leaving the home even as they ran dangerously low on food and water.
Speaking by telephone to The Associated Press from his home in Ohio, homeowner Lou Ridi said his 48-year-old brother and nephew remained trapped inside the house for days while trying to protect it. He said they were unable to leave and went several days without access to food or water.
By Thursday morning, the standoff had ended when the Israeli military evacuated Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida, and his teenage son from the property. The future of the home, along with at least one neighboring property that was also targeted, remained uncertain.
The Israeli military said it had taken steps in recent days to restore calm. Overnight Thursday, troops dismantled “two illegal outposts” located near Qusra and a neighboring village, arrested one Israeli suspect, and reinforced the area with additional forces. The military said the deployment, near the Palestinian city of Nablus, was intended to “carry out defensive missions and patrols.”
Reporters at the scene said roads leading into Qusra had been blocked. Israeli police did not immediately answer questions regarding whether any additional Israeli civilians had been taken into custody.
Palestinian leaders, along with members of Israel’s opposition, have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of failing to adequately confront escalating settler attacks against Palestinians, which they say have increased significantly in recent years.
Huckabee’s statement on X marked one of the strongest public condemnations by a senior U.S. official regarding settler violence, though he also praised the Israeli military’s handling of the incident. Huckabee has long been viewed as a supporter of the Israeli settlement movement and has consistently backed Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank while also speaking out against violence by settlers.
Video captured by the home’s security cameras on Thursday morning appeared to show several settlers still positioned near a damaged stone wall adjacent to the property.
Ridi said the harassment had not begun this week but had been ongoing for months before intensifying. He alleged that settlers had cut off electricity and water to the home and repeatedly pelted the property with stones, damaging both his house and at least one neighboring residence.
“We are prisoners in our own house, hostages in our own house,” he said.
