US ambassador visits Palestinian town amid rise in West Bank settler violence

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met on Saturday with Palestinians, including families of U.S. citizens killed by Israeli settlers, in Turmus Ayya, a West Bank town that has faced repeated settler attacks.

The visit comes as settler violence has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition took office in late 2022.

Who is the current U.S. ambassador to Israel?

Mike Huckabee is the current U.S. ambassador to Israel. A Baptist minister and longtime supporter of Israeli settlements, he has called for violent settlers to be prosecuted, while saying such attacks represent a minority within the wider settler community, which numbers around 750,000. Israeli settlers accused of carrying out attacks against Palestinians are rarely prosecuted.

What happened in Turmus Ayya during the visit?

Several settlements have been established around Turmus Ayya, the Palestinian town near Ramallah that Huckabee visited on Saturday. Residents say harassment by militant Israeli settlers is common and that they are unable to stop them from entering the town and damaging homes. "We have many issues that we will address," Nawwaf Zaghoul, the town's mayor, told reporters ahead of the meeting, describing what he said were constant attacks by settlers.

He said residents would ask the ambassador to help secure their safety. About 80% of the town's roughly 3,000 residents are Palestinian Americans, he said. "We are hoping that (the ambassador) will do something for us regarding these lawless settlers," resident Sameer Hazama said ahead of the meeting.

Why has West Bank settler violence increased?

Netanyahu's government has overseen an expansion of settlements across the West Bank, further entrenching Israeli control over territory that Palestinians seek for a future state. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, with the United Nations and most countries deeming the territory occupied. Israel's government says the land is disputed, not occupied.

Huckabee refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, a term used by the Israeli government but not adopted by the U.S. government.

Has Huckabee visited other West Bank communities?

Huckabee visited Taybeh, one of the only Christian villages remaining in the West Bank, in June 2025 after a church there was vandalised. He said at the time that the desecration of a place of worship was an act of terror and a crime. He has also visited Shiloh, a settlement near Turmus Ayya, at least twice since 2025.