U.S. ambassador calls ongoing West Bank settler violence an "act of terror"

The U.S. ambassador to Israel condemned Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank again on Saturday, calling the behavior an "act of terror" as he visited with Palestinian American residents shaken by months of attacks."If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a car, if they torch a mosque, if they go into someone's home and vandalize it, paint graffiti on the walls, that's a criminal act. But it extends beyond a criminal act. It's an act of terror," Ambassador Mike Huckabee said during his visit to the village of Turmus Ayya, which has reported frequent attacks by settlers over the past year. Such attacks have surged since the war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the United Nations humanitarian office. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visits the town of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestine, on Sept. 5, 2026. Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images During Saturday's visit to Turmus Ayya, the ambassador began his remarks by making clear he was addressing U.S. citizens, who make up a small per...