US ambassador to Israel calls settler siege 'terror'

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday called a settler blockade of Palestinian homes near Nablus an act of “terror”, after residents said they had been cut off from food and other supplies since Sunday.

The blockade includes a home owned by a US citizen, according to AFP. Huckabee wrote on X that the actions were “meant to intimidate and harass this family” and called them “disgusting”. He also wrote: “No excuse for such thuggish behaviour.”

Huckabee said Israel intervened at the request of the United States. The Israeli military sent forces on Wednesday and removed a tent, but witnesses said settlers remained at the site with blankets. The army later said it would send a new battalion to try to impose order.

Huckabee’s comments are notable because he has previously supported Jewish settlement in the West Bank and rejected the idea of a Palestinian state.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements there among about three million Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law.