U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday strongly defended the overwhelming majority of Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria while sharply condemning a small group of Israelis accused of criminal and violent behavior, insisting their actions do not represent the broader community.
“‘Settlers’ are not the problem in Judea/Samaria. ‘Unsettlers’ are,” Huckabee wrote. “Very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families & to Israel.”
Huckabee pointed to comments made by Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, who publicly denounced the conduct of Israelis involved in a recent confrontation near the Palestinian Arab village of Qusra.
“Real settlers like Yisrael Ganz, Governor of Judea/Samaria, condemn the actions of the few,” Huckabee wrote. “Let’s hope the media gives attention to this & balances their stories.”
The controversy centered on an incident in Qusra, where several Israelis were reported to have attempted to occupy a Palestinian Arab residence. After the family refused to vacate the home, a lengthy standoff ensued until Israeli security personnel arrived and removed the group. Following the evacuation, the Israelis allegedly tried to obstruct a roadway leading into the village.
Ganz forcefully criticized the episode, saying it “does not reflect our values or our way of conducting ourselves.”
“There is no place for individuals to take matters into their own hands and establish an outpost in someone’s backyard, even when dealing with an illegal home or an attempt to seize control of the land,” Ganz said. “There is no justification whatsoever for violence against uninvolved civilians or security forces.”
He added, “There is no doubt that some are exploiting these events as part of a campaign against the Jewish communities, but that must not obscure the simple truth: what happened in Qusra was wrong and is unacceptable to us.”
Ganz said Jewish communities in Binyamin and across Judea and Samaria would continue moving forward “with determination and responsibility” through what he described as “an orderly and proper process.”
“At the same time, I call on the Israeli government to cancel the Oslo Accords and enable legitimate, regulated Jewish communities throughout the open areas,” he said.
Israeli security personnel, including IDF troops, Border Police officers, and Civil Administration officials, arrived to dismantle an unauthorized outpost that had been established several days earlier. During the operation, Hilltop Youth activists attempted to impede the evacuation by placing large boulders across nearby access roads.
Central Command commander Avi Bluth visited the scene to oversee the operation before departing roughly an hour later. Security forces ultimately completed the evacuation and restored order without major confrontations.
According to reports, the outpost had been established about three days earlier near Qusra as an expansion of the Tel Talpiyot outpost. Palestinian officials claimed it prevented local residents from reaching their homes and interfered with daily life.
The incident followed several recent reports alleging that Israeli civilians had entered homes and other areas near Qusra and the neighboring village of Jalud in attempts to assert control over the properties.
An IDF spokesperson condemned the reported conduct in unusually strong terms, calling it “illegal, despicable, and improper.” The spokesperson also said several Hilltop Youth activists attempted to gain entry into the area by riding in an ambulance after the military had declared the location a closed military zone.
“Upon the ambulance’s arrival at the crossing, IDF forces identified Israeli citizens inside it who sought to enter the area under its cover,” the spokesperson said.
The military stated that those responsible would be handled together with the appropriate security agencies and warned that any active-duty or reserve soldiers found to have taken part in the incidents would face disciplinary action.
During overnight operations Thursday, security forces dismantled two unauthorized outposts in Area B near Qusra and Jalud, confiscated equipment from both sites, and detained one Israeli.
Soldiers from the IDF’s 51st Battalion were deployed to the area to conduct patrols and defensive operations aimed at maintaining security and protecting local residents.
Earlier in the week, Huckabee also responded to accusations made by Palestinian Arab Ihab Hassan, who claimed that Israeli “settler terrorists” had surrounded the home of an American citizen in Qusra and alleged that the U.S. Embassy had failed to intervene.
“This is another lie,” Huckabee responded.
Huckabee said the U.S. Embassy in Yerushalayim had been “VERY involved” and explained that the IDF and Israel Police entered the area at the embassy’s request to remove what he described as “the Israeli terrorists” responsible for the incident.
“The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal,” Huckabee wrote, adding that the White House had not “intervened” because Washington had already been kept informed of the situation.
He further characterized the intimidation of the family as a “horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass” and denounced the conduct as “disgusting” and “thuggish.”
“There is no excuse for such thuggish behavior,” Huckabee wrote. “But saying the US Ambassador or US Embassy doesn’t care or hasn’t done anything is simply untrue.”
In a follow-up post sharing video of Israeli security forces dismantling the outpost, Huckabee said the footage demonstrated that the IDF and Israel Police had acted to remove illegal trespassers who were attempting to intimidate Palestinian residents.
“It’s just not accurate to say Israel nor the US Embassy did nothing to protect Palestinian homeowners/US citizens,” he wrote.
{Matzav.com}
