U.S. Ambassador to Israel Huckabee argued that establishing Israeli settlements in Area C of the West Bank, on Palestinian land, does not violate the terms of the Oslo Accords reached in 1993. Huckabee defended the possibility of settlements in the occupied West Bank under the agreement.
Violence and settlers
Huckabee said violence should be condemned regardless of which side commits it. He said it would be “somewhat hypocritical” to react when Palestinians attack Israelis but not when Israelis attack Palestinians.
Using Israel’s term “Judea and Samaria” for the West Bank, Huckabee claimed that Israelis who attack Palestinians do not represent the majority of Israelis living in the area.
Huckabee described Israelis who seize Palestinian land in the West Bank as “500,000 Israelis who live extremely peacefully and raise their children to be good citizens.” He argued that Israelis who attack Palestinians constitute a very small minority.
Huckabee said antisemitism was increasing around the world and predicted that more Jews would migrate to Israel as a result. He argued that it would make sense to settle some of the incoming communities in the West Bank.
The attack in Khusra
In the town of Khusra, in the Nablus district of the West Bank, armed and masked Israelis attacked Palestinians, while Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene also beat Palestinians.
Huckabee had previously described the assailants who surrounded a Palestinian family’s home in Khusra as “Israeli terrorists.” After Israeli attackers tried to burn a mosque in the town of Bizarya, Hebrew messages written on the walls included the words “Greetings from the terrorists,” directed at Huckabee.
Huckabee said images of masked young men seizing Palestinians’ homes and attacking international journalists were damaging Israel’s reputation within the Republican Party and around the world.
