U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has warned militant Israeli settlers against seizing West Bank property owned by Palestinian Americans, describing such actions as "a violation of God's law".
In an interview with Reuters, Huckabee—a Baptist minister with a long history of supporting Israeli settlement expansion—said individuals found to have participated in a siege on homes in the West Bank village of Qusra could face U.S. sanctions. One of the targeted properties belongs to Palestinian American Loui Ridi.
The situation began on August 9, when Israeli settlers encircled residences in Qusra in what human rights organizations described as an attempt to take over privately owned Palestinian land. The incident has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Although Israel's military deployed dozens of soldiers to the site and managed to push the settlers back, the group remains close by. Local residents, including Ridi, have expressed fears that settlers will move in on their land again if military forces withdraw.
Asked what message the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has for settlers considering taking land or homes owned by Palestinian Americans in the West Bank, Huckabee cited religious scripture. He had previously denounced those responsible as "Israeli terrorists".
"I think the message is bigger than just even the Trump administration. It's a message of basic civility and civilized behavior," Huckabee told Reuters in Jerusalem, adding: "You don't take something that doesn't belong to you."
U.S. officials estimate that tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans reside in the West Bank, with many concentrated in a cluster of villages between Ramallah and Nablus, where Qusra is located.
Speaking from his home in Qusra on Thursday, Ridi told Reuters that he had been in touch with Huckabee's staff at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, but said he was still being harassed by Israeli settlers near his land.
Citing the Ten Commandments, Huckabee declared "Thou shalt not steal" and said individuals must not take or "covet" - meaning "desire" - what belongs to others.
"If someone owns the land and they own their house, then having someone come and take it over and scare the family away from it, that's a violation, not just of man's law. That's a violation of God's law," said Huckabee, a Republican former governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Huckabee is the first evangelical Christian to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel. He has consistently backed Israeli settlements in the West Bank and uses the biblical designation Judea and Samaria—a term used by the Israeli government but not officially adopted by the U.S. government.
Defending the settlement movement as a whole, Huckabee argued that violent settlers represent a minority who do not reflect the broader community, who he said "just want to raise their families in Judea and Samaria peacefully and with a level of security."
That position is rejected by Palestinians and their supporters, who maintain that settlements erode land needed for an independent state. United Nations bodies and most nations view Israel's settlements as illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
The ambassador said Washington was "appalled" by the events in Qusra, calling the targeting of Palestinian families "inexcusable and repugnant" criminal behavior, and insisted those involved should face serious legal consequences in Israel.
Huckabee added that participants could also face U.S. sanctions, including travel bans to the U.S., though he noted he was unaware of any such measures currently being considered.
Israeli police have not announced any arrests or charges against settlers allegedly involved in the blockade, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly commented on the matter. A prominent settler leader, however, has condemned the actions of the settlers involved.
