US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sharply condemned Israeli settlers on Thursday after they surrounded three Palestinian homes for five nights in Qusra in the occupied West Bank. The families could not leave safely while food and water ran low, according to residents and local officials cited by the Associated Press. Huckabee described the intimidation as an act of terror and said the US Embassy had coordinated with Israeli military and police authorities.
One of the houses belongs to Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American living in Ohio. His brother, Qusai Abu Rida, remained inside with his teenage son to protect the property as groups that sometimes numbered dozens gathered outside, erected tents and allegedly threw stones. Abu Rida said the electricity and water supply had been cut, forcing the pair to drink from a well, while Ridi followed events through security cameras and telephone updates from the United States.
Israeli troops attempted to restore order, the AP reported. On Thursday morning, the military moved Abu Rida and his son to another house, but they still could not leave the area. El País reported that Huckabee said soldiers and police went to Qusra at the embassy's request. The ambassador said US officials were continuing to work with both services, although the available reports did not announce arrests or a final end to the standoff.
Huckabee's language was an unusually forceful rebuke from an ambassador who has long supported Israeli settlements. He referred to the people responsible as terrorists and called their effort to frighten and harass the family disgusting. The intervention is also notable because President Donald Trump removed Biden-era sanctions on settlers accused of violence when he began his second term, while Huckabee has more recently denounced a rise in attacks.
Qusra, south of Nablus, has become a focal point for settler violence. The UN humanitarian office said in April that it had recorded more settler attacks there than in any other West Bank community during 2026. According to UN information cited by the AP, a 25-year-old resident died after an off-duty Israeli reservist shot him in March and eight other people suffered wounds in attacks. Violence in a nearby village last month killed two Israelis and four Palestinians, after which assailants set fire to a mosque in Qusra and sprayed revenge graffiti on a wall.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians seek the territory as the core of a future state. The immediate test is whether Israeli authorities can guarantee the three families safe movement, remove those surrounding their homes and investigate alleged violence. The embassy's involvement raises diplomatic pressure for visible accountability, while the absence of a reported resolution means the safety of the residents and the response by police remain the next developments to watch.
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