The U.S. Ambassador to Israel condemned the actions of Jewish settlers who besieged the home of an American Palestinian family in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to NPR. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the siege a horrific act of terror.
US Ambassador Condemns Settler Siege in the West Bank
According to local officials and family members, settlers gathered near the home in the village of Qusra, located south of Nablus, and harassed those inside. The standoff involved up to dozens of men who threw stones, attempted to bring down a nearby stone wall, and prevented the occupants from leaving despite dwindling supplies. The village is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Palestinian city of Nablus.
Lou Ridi, the owner of the house who spoke by phone from his home in Ohio, stated that his 48-year-old brother and nephew had been holed up inside to defend the property and were unable to leave or access food and water for several days. On Thursday morning, the owner’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida, reported that he and his teenage son were evacuated by Israel’s military.
Military Intervention and Outpost Removals
Israeli troops intervened in the area to try to restore order. The military announced that overnight Thursday, its troops dismantled two illegal outposts
on the outskirts of Qusra and a nearby village, while detaining one Israeli. Additional soldiers were surged to the area to carry out defensive missions and patrols. Journalists on the outskirts of Qusra reported that roads into the village were closed, and Israeli police did not immediately respond to questions regarding whether any Israeli civilians had been arrested.
Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi stated that Israeli forces evacuated more than a dozen homes to take up positions in the village, while the settlers remained in other parts of the community. Abu Rida noted that soldiers had given occupants 30 minutes to evacuate and move into one of the besieged houses. Although the military stated that soldiers were instructed to allow families to remain in their homes and not operate inside them, families had not yet returned.
Broader Context of West Bank Violence
Palestinians and the Israeli opposition have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians amid surging clashes. Ambassador Huckabee’s post on X marked an unusually sharp rebuke from a U.S. official, even as he defended the Israeli military’s response. Huckabee is a longtime ally of Israel’s settler movement, having previously expressed support for Israeli control over the occupied West Bank while condemning settler violence.
Home security footage from Thursday morning showed a few settlers still hiding by a damaged stone wall near the house. Ridi stated that settlers had harassed his home for months before the situation escalated, cutting off water and electricity and throwing stones that caused damage to his property and at least one other house in the area. Last month, a mosque in Qusra was set on fire in another apparent settler attack, which followed the killing of an Israeli settler and subsequent violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead. A humanitarian office reported in April that it had recorded more settler attacks in Qusra than in any other West Bank community in 2026.
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