Recently, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have been criticized for blocking Palestinian homes. Hakkai, the U.S. ambassador to Israel who has always supported the settlers, described their actions as despicable.
Mike Huckabee wrote on social media platform X on Thursday (August 13): "Those who carried out this horrible terrorist attack, with the intention of intimidating and harassing this family, their actions are disgusting."
Since Sunday, residents in the Israeli settlement area near Nablus in the West Bank have blocked Palestinian houses, including a house belonging to an American citizen. The residents said that their food and other supplies have been cut off.
Hekabi, who has been a staunch supporter of the settlers for many years, said, “Such thuggish behavior is unacceptable.” He said that the Defense Forces and police had gone to the scene ‘upon request’ to expel those who were labeled as ‘terrorists’.
Hekabi was a pastor of a Christian evangelical church. He has always strongly supported Israel's actions and opposed Palestinians' attempts to establish their own nation. Therefore, his statement this time is particularly notable.
Israeli troops took action against illegal settlers who are encircling Palestinians on Thursday. The military said they deployed troops to the area for the second time overnight, demolished two settlements, and detained an Israeli.
According to Aisha Hassan, who was trapped in one of the houses, “The settlers are scattered across areas on nearby hills. So far, no one has been able to bring us food and supplies, as the area has been completely blockaded by the military.”
The day before, the army removed most of the tents, but witnesses said that the settlers still stayed there with blankets.
Meanwhile, Israel has re-established the large settlement of Ganim in the West Bank. Israel has been withdrawing from this area for over 20 years, which symbolizes the policy of the current government to rapidly expand settlements.
Ganim is one of the four settlements in the West Bank that Israel abandoned in 2005 as part of the plan for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw.
Currently, there are 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, along with about 500,000 Israeli settlers.
