West Bank safety is Israel's responsibility, US envoy says

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Saturday that Israel's government has responsibility for the safety of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and should impose “severe consequences” over violence.

Huckabee spoke during a visit to Turmus Ayya, a West Bank town with a large Palestinian-American community, after a surge in attacks by settlers. He said he wanted to hear residents' “legitimate grievances”.

“One of the messages that we have been sending and we will continue to send is that people in these communities have a right to live with a level of security and safety, and that the government has a responsibility to make sure that that happens,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee stopped short of criticising Israel by name. He said settler violence was carried out by a small minority and that action against it was in Israel's best interest.

“Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror. When people do it they should have an expectation that they will have severe consequences,” he said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian residents has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, and recent months have seen a surge in attacks.

About half a million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, alongside about three million Palestinians. Ahead of October 27 elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been increasing approval of new settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Huckabee also denied that Israel was planning to force Palestinians out of Gaza, after Israeli ministers spoke of a plan to expel them.

The ambassador, an evangelical Christian pastor and former governor of Arkansas, has long supported Israel and settlers. He said he continues to use the terms Judea and Samaria for the West Bank because they are biblical terms.