US ambassador to Israel calls occupiers committing crimes in West Bank ‘terrorists’

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday renewed his description of occupiers who carry out attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as “terrorists,” saying their actions harm Israel’s image.

Speaking to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Huckabee said occupier violence against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank damages Israel’s reputation worldwide.

KAN said Huckabee again described perpetrators of hate crimes in the West Bank as “terrorists,” adding that their actions cause severe damage to Israel’s image in the US.

“It hurts the image of Israel as a country and as a people, and I find that unfortunate because Israel desperately needs every friend it can get and does not need more enemies,” Huckabee said.

His remarks came after he described occupiers who besieged residents of the Palestinian town of Qusra in the northern occupied West Bank last month as “Israeli terrorists.”

In response to those remarks, occupiers tried last week to set fire to a mosque in the town of Bazariya in Nablus Governorate, northern West Bank, and sprayed racist slogans at the site, including: “Huckabee, greetings from the terrorists.”

Commenting on the graffiti, Huckabee said he was not personally concerned by the writings on the walls, but described them as “a serious matter,” noting that the damage they cause to Israel is significant, even among Republicans in the US.

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He said he feared that young Americans’ knowledge of Israel could be limited to such incidents, negatively affecting their perception.

Despite his criticism of occupier violence, Huckabee is known for adopting Christian Zionist views and has claimed that Israel has “the right to control large parts” extending from the Nile to the Euphrates and large areas of the Middle East. He has also previously visited illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Contrary to UN resolutions and international law, Huckabee claimed that the presence of occupiers in the West Bank is “legal.”

The UN considers the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory and regards Israeli changes there, particularly settlement activity, as illegal under international law.

The West Bank has seen an escalation in occupier attacks on Palestinians and their property, which has increased since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023.

Around 750,000 occupiers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and carry out attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

On the conflict with Iran, Huckabee said it is very difficult to predict what Iranians will do, claiming they are in a “very weak” military and economic position.

“They may pretend that they are just fine, but I do not think anyone who honestly looks at their situation believes that,” he said.

Huckabee rejected claims that US President Donald Trump had postponed the nuclear file and was negotiating only on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I do not think so, and again I say this based on the president’s statements. He has never hinted that he is willing to ignore the fundamental problem the US has with Iran, which is its continuous threat for 47 and a half years to bring death to America,” Huckabee said.

“That is not something we as a nation can ignore,” he added.

The US and Israel began a war on Iran on Feb. 28, during which the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil exports and global supply chains, was closed.

Iran responded with attacks on US and Israeli targets in the region, before a ceasefire was reached.

On June 18, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation, but it later stalled due to disputes over implementation and security of the waterway.

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