US Ambassador Labels West Bank Attacks 'Terrorism' After Assault on Christian Town

The United States ambassador to Israel publicly condemned recent violence by Israeli youths in the West Bank as 'terrorism' after the Christian-majority town of Taybeh was attacked. Ambassador Mike Huckabee — an ordained evangelical pastor and a noted supporter of Israeli settlements — described the perpetrators as 'thugs' who 'come there to create havoc.'

The comments follow a series of clashes across the West Bank that intensified after Israeli authorities moved to demolish several illegal outposts near Hebron. At the same time, Israel has stepped up air strikes in Gaza; officials reported that Israeli troops came under fire in the south of the enclave.

The unrest has coincided with a particularly violent olive-harvest season in parts of the West Bank. Masked youths have been seen setting fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles in multiple locations, including Jab'a near Bethlehem, while Taybeh was also targeted.

'Israelis can carry out terrorism as well,' Huckabee told News Nation. 'This is a very small number, mostly of youth, angry and disaffected. These are thugs. Many of them don't even live in Judea and Samaria. They come in there to create havoc.'

Many security analysts dispute Huckabee's claim that the attackers are outsiders. Instead, experts point to a growing divide within the settler movement: mainstream settlers who typically work with Israeli security forces to consolidate their presence, and an increasingly violent fringe willing to clash with anyone — including security services — to carry out attacks on Palestinians.

Authorities report some arrests in connection with recent incidents, but no formal charges have been filed so far. Separately, an Israeli citizen was killed and three others wounded in a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, carried out by two Palestinian assailants.

In related developments, activists say that earlier policy changes — including the lifting of certain sanctions on settler leaders — emboldened some extremist elements. Meanwhile, tensions with Gaza continue to escalate: a round of Israeli strikes reportedly killed at least 25 people in one attack, with further strikes near Khan Younis killing additional civilians, according to hospital sources. Officials said some strikes were among the deadliest since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October.

The ambassador's rare public rebuke has drawn attention to rising violence in the West Bank and to deeper questions about who is responsible and whether Israeli authorities can reassert control over volatile areas.