US Ambassador Mike Huckaby Films Settlers During West Bank Visit

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckaby documented settlers who approached a home where he was visiting in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, in the West Bank, on Saturday. Huckaby filmed the settlers arriving on an ATV with his mobile phone and later posted the video to his X account. He wrote alongside the video, "I visited Americans in Turmus Ayya to hear disturbing stories of criminal terrorist acts by a group of trespassers brazenly roaming the property of legal property owners. Heinous acts that do not represent 99% of Israelis."

Sources present during the visit told N12 that Huckaby promised to personally deliver the video to U.S. President Donald Trump to show him what occurred and what was described as an attempt to disrupt the visit. Huckaby's visit to Turmus Ayya comes amid a rise in violence in the West Bank. During his visit, he met with Palestinian residents, including families of American citizens reportedly killed by settlers, according to Reuters.

The ambassador called for legal action against settlers involved in violent acts. The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Nawaf Zaghloul, stated that approximately 80% of the town's 3,000 residents are Palestinian with American citizenship. Zaghloul mentioned that residents sought U.S. assistance in ensuring their safety and that they would discuss the "incessant violence from settlers" with Huckaby.

Huckaby clarified that the violence does not represent the entire settler population, which he estimated at 750,000 people. He stressed that those involved in violent acts, a minority, should be prosecuted. Reuters noted this is not Huckaby's first visit to a Palestinian village following a violent incident; last year he visited Taybeh after a church there was vandalized. Earlier this week, graffiti targeting Huckaby appeared in the West Bank reading, "Huckaby, greetings from the terrorists," after he labeled violent actors "criminals" and "terrorists." Huckaby responded that Israel needs all the friends it can get, not more enemies.