Seoul Gazette - US envoy on West Bank visit says Israel has responsibility for Palestinians

Mike Huckabee, long known as a staunch supporter of Israel and settlers, visited a Palestinian-American's home in the West Bank that has been repeatedly targeted by settlers and said he wanted to hear the community's "legitimate grievances".

As the ambassador met families inside a finely manicured old house in the town of Turmus Ayya, where around 80 percent of the 4,000 residents hold US citizenship, a settler from a nearby illegal outpost approached nearby in a quad bike.

"One of the messages that we have been sending and we will continue to send is that people in these communities have a right to live with a level of security and safety, and that the government has a responsibility to make sure that that happens," Huckabee said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinian residents has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, but recent months have seen a surge in attacks ahead of October 27 elections.

Huckabee stopped short of criticising Israel by name but said: "Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror.

"When people do it they should have an expectation that they will have severe consequences," Huckabee said.

He said that taking action was in the "best interest" of Israel, which already faces growing criticism around the world, including in key ally the United States, over the devastating offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

"Their reputation does not do well when it appears that this tiny little group of marauders are somehow representative of the larger population. I don't believe that it is," Huckabee said.

"There may be a few hundred who are responsible, but that's a few hundred too many," Huckabee said.

- 'US has the ability' -

Huckabee spent about two hours meeting Palestinian-Americans inside the home of Samir Hazmeh before joining the community in a lunch of maqluba, a dish of rice and meat served after flipping the pot upside down.

Hazmeh said the house in which he welcomed Huckabee had its windows smashed twice by settlers, who have also tried to open the gates and burn it down. He has put up both barbed wire and an American flag in hopes of protection.

Yasser Alqam, who met the ambassador, owns land just 100 metres (yards) away but said he cannot return after several attacks by settlers.

"The United States already has the ability to put pressure on Israel to at least arrest those settlers who are known to the authorities," he said, voicing shock that President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on settler extremists imposed by predecessor Joe Biden.

Alqam's wife Jinan, wearing a traditional Palestinian dress, said she voiced hope to Huckabee that he "can do something for us and provide us with protection from the settlers so that we can reach our land and pick the olives" in the coming season.

- 'Thou shalt not steal' -

Ahead of elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been ramping up approval of new settlements, which are illegal under international law. More than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank amid three million Palestinians.

Despite Huckabee's dismissal of violent settlers as a small minority, Netanyahu has brought into his government far-right ministers who have openly mused about expelling the Palestinian population.

Huckabee also denied that Israel was planning to force Palestinians out of Gaza, after Israeli ministers spoke of a plan to kick out the two million people.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor and former governor of Arkansas, has long cited his faith to back Israel and earlier would not even use the term Palestinian.

Speaking of violence by settlers, Huckabee said, "I think the Scripture is pretty clear -- Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt not even covet."

Huckabee earlier intervened when settler extremists camped out and blocked basic supplies from reaching another Palestinian-American in the town of Qusra last month, leading to rare condemnation by Netanyahu of settlers.

Q.Min--SG