Saturday, 02 August, 2025
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Saturday called for the prosecution of those responsible for an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank, blaming Israeli settlers and describing the incident as an “act of terror.”
Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where local clerics reported that Israeli settlers had set fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on 8 July.
“This is an act of terror and a criminal offence,” Huckabee said in a statement. “Those who commit acts of terror and violence in Taybeh—or anywhere else—must be found and prosecuted. Merely reprimanding them is not sufficient.”
The Israeli government has yet to comment on the incident but has previously condemned such attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, Huckabee urged Israel to “aggressively investigate” the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten by settlers in the West Bank, also labelling it a “criminal and terrorist act.”
Known as a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements, Huckabee’s remarks represent a rare and pointed public intervention from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
In January, the Trump administration rescinded sanctions that had been imposed by the previous Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza in October 2023, attacks by settlers on Palestinians and retaliatory attacks by Palestinians on Israelis in the West Bank have escalated, though tensions in the region have long persisted.
Last year, the United Nations’ highest court ruled that Israel’s settlements in territories captured during the 1967 Middle East war—including the West Bank—are illegal under international law.
Israel disputes this ruling, citing biblical and historical connections to the land alongside security concerns.
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US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Saturday called for the prosecution of those responsible for an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank, blaming Israeli settlers and describing the incident as an “act of terror.”
Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where local clerics reported that Israeli settlers had set fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on 8 July.
“This is an act of terror and a criminal offence,” Huckabee said in a statement. “Those who commit acts of terror and violence in Taybeh—or anywhere else—must be found and prosecuted. Merely reprimanding them is not sufficient.”
The Israeli government has yet to comment on the incident but has previously condemned such attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, Huckabee urged Israel to “aggressively investigate” the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten by settlers in the West Bank, also labelling it a “criminal and terrorist act.”
Known as a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements, Huckabee’s remarks represent a rare and pointed public intervention from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
In January, the Trump administration rescinded sanctions that had been imposed by the previous Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza in October 2023, attacks by settlers on Palestinians and retaliatory attacks by Palestinians on Israelis in the West Bank have escalated, though tensions in the region have long persisted.
Last year, the United Nations’ highest court ruled that Israel’s settlements in territories captured during the 1967 Middle East war—including the West Bank—are illegal under international law.
Israel disputes this ruling, citing biblical and historical connections to the land alongside security concerns.
Comments
