JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Israel on Thursday condemned a siege by Israeli settlers of a Palestinian American family’s home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, calling it a “horrific act of terror.” Mike Huckabee’s remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode in a surge of settler violencein the region.Starting Sunday, settlers gathered around three houses in the village of Qusra, including one belonging to Palestinian American Loui Ridi, according to local officials, Ridi and Ridi’s brother. At times numbering dozens, the settlers threw stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving as their food and water dwindled. On Thursday morning, Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida, who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it, said they were moved by Israel’s military to another home but still cannot leave the area.
The military declined to confirm whether it moved the pair and other residents. But Israeli troops have intervened in recent days to try to restore order. The military said Thursday that its troops dismantled “two illegal outposts” on the outskirts of Qusra and a nearby village, and detained one Israeli. It added that additional soldiers had gone to the area, which is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Palestinian city of Nablus, to “carry out defensive missions and patrols.” Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi said that Israeli forces evacuated seven homes in total to take positions in the village. The settlers, though removed from their outposts, remain in other parts of the village, he added.
