US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee defended Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria on Thursday, distinguishing between the region's established Jewish communities and a small number of Israelis involved in criminal or violent activity.
“‘Settlers’ are not the problem in Judea/Samaria. ‘Unsettlers’ are," Huckabee wrote. “Very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families & to Israel."
Huckabee cited Yisrael Ganz, Governor of the Binyamin Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council, who condemned the actions of Israelis involved in a recent incident near the Palestinian Arab village of Qusra.
“Real settlers like Yisrael Ganz, Governor of Judea/Samaria, condemn the actions of the few," Huckabee wrote. “Let's hope the media gives attention to this & balances their stories."
The incident in Qusra involved a group of Israelis who reportedly attempted to take over a Palestinian Arab home. The family inside refused to leave, resulting in a prolonged confrontation before Israeli security forces arrived to remove the Israelis. Following their removal, the Israelis also attempted to block a road into the village.
Ganz condemned the incident, saying that it “does not reflect our values or our way of conducting ourselves."
“There is no place for individuals to take matters into their own hands and establish an outpost in someone’s backyard, even when dealing with an illegal home or an attempt to seize control of the land," Ganz said. “There is no justification whatsoever for violence against uninvolved civilians or security forces."
“There is no doubt that some are exploiting these events as part of a campaign against the Jewish communities, but that must not obscure the simple truth: what happened in Qusra was wrong and is unacceptable to us," he added.
Ganz said the Jewish communities in Binyamin and throughout Judea and Samaria would continue to be led “with determination and responsibility" through what he described as “an orderly and proper process."
“At the same time, I call on the Israeli government to cancel the Oslo Accords and enable legitimate, regulated Jewish communities throughout the open areas," he said.
IDF forces, Border Police and Civil Administration personnel arrived at the site to evacuate an outpost established several days earlier. Hilltop Youth activists arrived during the operation and blocked access roads with large rocks in an attempt to delay the security forces.
Central Command chief Avi Bluth monitored the operation at the scene before leaving about an hour later. The security forces worked to clear the area and evacuate those present without clashes.
The outpost had reportedly been established approximately three days earlier near Qusra as an extension of the Tel Talpiyot outpost. Palestinian officials claimed that its establishment blocked access to homes and disrupted residents’ daily lives.
The incident came amid reports of several cases in recent weeks in which Israeli citizens entered homes and Palestinian areas near Qusra and the nearby village of Jalud and attempted to take control of them.
An IDF spokesperson described the reported activity as “illegal, despicable, and improper," adding that several Hilltop Youth activists attempted to enter the area in an ambulance after a closed military zone order had been issued.
“Upon the ambulance’s arrival at the crossing, IDF forces identified Israeli citizens inside it who sought to enter the area under its cover," the spokesperson said.
The IDF said those involved would be dealt with in coordination with the relevant security authorities. The military also said that regular or reserve soldiers found to have participated in the incidents would face disciplinary proceedings.
Overnight Thursday, security forces dismantled two illegal outposts in Area B on the outskirts of Qusra and Jalud and confiscated equipment from the sites. One Israeli was detained.
IDF soldiers from the 51st Battalion arrived in the area as part of the security response and were to carry out defensive missions and patrols to maintain security and protect the area.
Huckabee had previously addressed the Qusra incident after Palestinian Arab Ihab Hassan accused Israeli “settler terrorists" of surrounding the home of an American citizen in the village and criticized the US Embassy in Israel for allegedly failing to respond.
“This is another lie," Huckabee responded.
Huckabee said the US Embassy in Jerusalem had been “VERY involved" and that the IDF and Israel Police had gone to the area at the request of the US to remove what he called “the Israeli terrorists" involved.
“The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal," Huckabee wrote, adding that the White House had not “intervened" because Washington had already been kept informed of the situation.
He described the actions against the family as a “horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass" and called the behavior “disgusting" and “thuggish."
“There is no excuse for such thuggish behavior," Huckabee wrote. “But saying the US Ambassador or US Embassy doesn’t care or hasn’t done anything is simply untrue."
In a subsequent post accompanying video of Israeli security forces clearing the outpost, Huckabee wrote that the footage constituted evidence that the IDF and Israel Police had gone to Qusra to remove illegal trespassers who had sought to intimidate Palestinian residents.
“It's just not accurate to say Israel nor the US Embassy did nothing to protect Palestinian homeowners/US citizens," he wrote.