US Ambassador Calls Settler Siege ‘Horrific Act of Terror’

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel has condemned a days-long siege of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank as a “horrific act of terror,” in an unusually sharp rebuke that has intensified international pressure on Israel’s government to rein in settler violence. Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of Israeli settlements, called the settlers besieging three families in the village of Qusra “Israeli terrorists” in a post on X, marking one of the strongest public condemnations of settler attacks ever issued by a U.S. ambassador to Israel, according to NPR.

The siege began on Sunday, August 9, when settlers surrounded three homes in Qusra, a village south of Nablus surrounded by Israeli settlements. The settlers cut off water and electricity to the homes and prevented occupants from leaving, with food and water supplies dwindling over several days. The three families comprise 15 people, including two children, according to the UN human rights office.

A Palestinian-American Family Trapped Inside

One of the besieged homes belongs to Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American businessman from Toledo, Ohio, who has invested approximately $1 million in the property. Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida (48), and his 18-year-old nephew were trapped inside the home for days, watching through security cameras as settlers surrounded them. “We are prisoners in our own house, hostages in our own house,” Ridi told the Associated Press.

Speaking to the Times of Israel, Ridi described the moment Israeli soldiers first arrived at the scene: “My brother calls the police and asks for help, and some time later a white pickup truck arrives with IDF soldiers. Instead of helping, the soldiers hug the settlers. Instead of protecting my brother, the soldiers become part of the danger.”

Ridi’s brother and nephew were evacuated by Israeli military on Thursday, August 13. Israeli troops also evacuated approximately 12 Palestinian households in Qusra, using some vacated homes as barracks, according to BBC News. The military said it dismantled “two illegal outposts” near Qusra and detained one Israeli.

Huckabee’s Rare Condemnation

Huckabee’s post on X was notable not only for its strong language but also because of his history as a staunch Christian Zionist and longtime ally of Israel’s settler movement. “Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behaviour,” he wrote.

However, as Antiwar.com reported, Huckabee simultaneously defended the broader settler movement, posting: “‘Settlers’ are not the problem in Judea/Samaria. ‘Unsettlers’ are. Very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families & to Israel.” This dual message has drawn criticism from Palestinian advocates who argue the problem is systemic.

Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian theologian, responded on X: “The problem is the settlement movement itself—stealing Palestinian land—and the state that enables, funds, and protects it. Even settlers who never personally attack a Palestinian are living in settlements that are illegal under international law.”

UN and International Condemnation

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) condemned the siege as “criminal actions by the settlers, supported or acquiesced to by Israel, the Occupying Power,” warning that “time is running out for these three families before they are forcibly displaced,” as reported by UN News. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said: “The IDF is either unable or unwilling to protect Palestinian communities…or worse, that the IDF is in collusion with the Israeli settlers, all aimed at displacing Palestinians and occupying their lands.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also condemned the settlers for carrying out “systematic assaults that can only be described as terroristic,” according to Al Jazeera.

White House Pressures Netanyahu

The White House was pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn the settlers’ actions, according to U.S. and Israeli officials who spoke to Reuters via Al-Monitor. As of Friday, Netanyahu had not publicly commented on the siege. A State Department official told the Jerusalem Post that “a stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region.”

Condemning settlers could be politically risky for Netanyahu some two months before Israel’s October elections, potentially upsetting settler voters upon whom parts of his right-wing coalition rely. Opinion polls suggest Netanyahu could lose power, with his security credentials still shaken by the 2023 Hamas attacks.

A Pattern of Escalating Violence

The Qusra siege is the latest and most dramatic example of a broader surge in settler violence that has alarmed the international community. According to UN figures, 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed in the West Bank in 2026 by Israeli forces or settlers. Approximately 3,800 Palestinians, nearly half of them children, have been displaced this year due to settler violence, demolitions and evictions.

2026 is the deadliest year for settler violence since ACLED began tracking incidents in Palestine a decade ago, according to Nasser Khdour, the organization’s Middle East assistant research manager. New outposts have soared from roughly eight annually between 2012 and 2022 to 32 in 2023, 62 in 2024, and 86 in 2025.

Israeli MP Aida Touma-Sliman of the Hadash party told Al Jazeera that the government’s attempts to distance itself from the violence are “ridiculous.” She said: “If you look at the West Bank, you can no longer differentiate between the army and the settlers. The government is supplying them, protecting and arming them.” Yair Dvir of the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem added: “Let’s be clear, settler violence is state violence. They both have the same aim: to displace Palestinians and to take their land.”

What’s Next

As the siege entered its sixth day, settlers pitched a new tent near the homes on Friday before Israeli soldiers removed it. Activists attempting to deliver food were blocked by the military, which declared the area a closed military zone. The trapped families remain in a precarious position, with the UN warning that they face imminent forced displacement.

The Guardian reported that Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert called the siege a “concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing,” saying “these are crimes against humanity which are actively supported by the Israeli government.”

With elections approaching in October and international pressure mounting, the key question is whether Netanyahu will publicly break with the settler movement that forms a critical part of his political base. The United States has made clear it expects a response, but whether the Israeli prime minister can afford to deliver one remains to be seen. For the families of Qusra, however, the immediate concern is more basic: whether they will be allowed to remain in their homes at all.