Residents of Turmus Ayya demand protection from the American ambassador from settler attacks

Several settlements were established around Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah. Its residents say that armed Israeli settlers are repeatedly harassed and that they are unable to prevent them from entering the town and damaging their homes.

Nawaf Zaghloul, mayor of Turmus Aya, told reporters before the meeting, “We, God willing, will convey to him the picture and suffering that we are experiencing in Turmus Aya. We have many topics that we will inform him of, each topic separately. What is the situation we are living in in Turmus Aya from the settlers,” noting that the “attacks” of the settlers are continuing throughout the day.

He added that the town's residents will ask the ambassador for help in ensuring their safety and security. He pointed out that about 80 percent of the town's Palestinian population, numbering about three thousand, hold American citizenship.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister and long-time supporter of Israeli settlements, called for settlers who commit violence to be prosecuted. But he believed their actions represented a minority within the broader settler community, which numbers approximately 750,000 people.

Israeli settlers accused of attacks targeting Palestinians in the West Bank are rarely tried.

Samir Hazma, a resident of Tamrsaya, said before the meeting with the ambassador, “We hope that (the ambassador) will do something for us regarding these outlaw settlers who come under the protection of the army.”

Huckabee visited Taybeh, one of the few remaining Christian villages in the West Bank, in June 2025 after a church there was vandalized. Huckabee said at the time that desecrating a place of worship was an act of terrorism and a crime.

Netanyahu's government is also overseeing the expansion of settlements across the West Bank, strengthening Israeli control over lands where the Palestinians seek to establish a future state.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, and the United Nations and most countries describe them as occupied territories. The Israeli government says the lands are disputed, not occupied.

Huckabee refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, a name used by the Israeli government but not officially adopted by the US government. Huckabee has visited the Shilo settlement, located near Turmus Aya, at least twice since 2025.

Settler violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply since the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most right-wing in Israel's history, took power in late 2022.