Huckabee Condemns ‘Terrorist’ Attacks on Palestinians in West Bank Town Hall

The U.S. ambassador to Israel denounced on Saturday a rising tide of Israeli extremist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, describing the assailants as “terrorists” at a rare meeting with Palestinian Americans in the territory. The comments by the ambassador, Mike Huckabee, came amid escalating Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians. Last month, settlers besieged the home of an American citizen near Qusra in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, drawing international condemnation. Mr. Huckabee held a town hall with the mostly Palestinian American residents of Turmus Aya who described life under Israeli military rule, as well as a climate of fear and intimidation created by Israeli settler attacks. The ambassador said he was “deeply grieved” by their stories, according to a transcript provided by the embassy. He added that he would exert “pressure in order to get some resolution to things you’ve brought up today,” without elaborating. It was an unusual meeting for Mr. Huckabee, an evangelical pastor and former Arkansas governor whose personal politics have long aligned with Israel’s right-wing settler movement. Several Turmus Aya residents said they could not recall a similar visit by a U.S. ambassador to Israel in recent years, though other U.S. officials have visited before. The ambassador’s remarks left at least some Palestinian Americans at the meeting disappointed, saying that while he had listened and offered strong words, he was unable to promise concrete change. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .