Israel must protect West Bank’s Palestinians amid settler pogroms: US envoy

Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee labels some of the settlers committing violence as ‘terrorists’ though analysts say his visit is ‘symbolic’.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, second from left, is greeted by members of the local municipality as he arrives to visit the home of a Palestinian-American resident who has been attacked twice by Israeli settlers [AFP]

United States ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has met with several local officials and residents in the occupied West Bank, including Palestinian Americans attacked in violent Israeli settler pogroms.

The diplomat said on Saturday that the Israeli government has a “responsibility” to ensure the safety of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank after a sharp rise in pogroms.

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“One of the messages that we have been sending and we will continue to send is that people in these communities have a right to live with a level of security and safety, and that the government has a responsibility to make sure that happens,” Huckabee told reporters on Saturday.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim , reporting from Turmus Aya in the occupied West Bank, said that Huckabee not only met local officials, “but also Palestinian Americans who live in the village of Turmus Aya and have been seeing firsthand the effects of settler pogroms and violence, part of the whole escalation by settlers in the occupied West Bank”.

“They want the US ambassador to relay the message that this is systematic violence being practised against Palestinians, that it’s continuing and that they need actual change,” Ibrahim said, noting that settlers in the area “wrote slogans not just against Palestinians, but also against him [Huckabee]”.

One person Huckabee met was US-Palestinian Ruwan Alqam, who relocated to Turmus Aya from the US state of Texas with her family four months ago.

But every time Alqam’s family leaves their occupied West Bank home, “we’re hit with roadblock after roadblock, settlers after settlers”, she told Al Jazeera, shortly after attending a morning meeting with Huckabee.

On a recent day trip to Nablus, the family was unable to return home as Israeli settlers attacked their car with rocks, Alqam said.

“They’re not being held accountable for their actions – endangering Palestinians is a fun activity for them,” Alqam said of the settlers, describing the violence committed as “not a minority” among Israelis.

Huckabee was “very receptive” to the experiences of Turmus Aya residents, Alqam said, adding: “We are in desperate need of attention here.”

‘Severe consequences’

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Huckabee said: “Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror. When people do it, they should have an expectation that they will have severe consequences”.

Meanwhile, Alon Pinkas , a former Israeli ambassador, told Al Jazeera that Huckabee’s visit to the West Bank is “largely symbolic … because his visit, as much as it is covered by the media, is not going to change American policy”.

Huckabee has labelled some of the settlers committing violence as “terrorists”, which is a “clear message”, Pinkas said, particularly coming from an evangelical Christian who “believes in the Jewish rights over the West Bank”.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration “doesn’t seem to care enough” about settler pogroms or the rights of Palestinians for it to “actually pressure the Israeli government”, Pinkas said.

Settler pogroms in the West Bank have ⁠risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, the most right wing in Israel’s history, took office in late 2022.

Settlements have also increased, despite being illegal under international law, with Israel advancing its plan for 627 settler units in the occupied West Bank , deepening its efforts to sever Palestinian ties to Jerusalem.

美国驻以色列大使迈克·赫卡比将一些实施暴力的定居者称为“恐怖分子”，但分析人士称他的访问是“象征性的”。

美国驻以色列大使迈克·赫卡比（左二）抵达当地市政当局，探望一位曾两次遭到以色列定居者袭击的巴勒斯坦裔美国居民，受到当地市政人员的迎接。[法新社]

美国驻以色列大使迈克·赫卡比会见了被占领的西岸地区的几位地方官员和居民，其中包括在以色列定居者暴力迫害中遭到袭击的巴勒斯坦裔美国人。

这位外交官周六表示，在针对巴勒斯坦人的种族清洗事件急剧增加之后，以色列政府有“责任”确保被占领的西岸巴勒斯坦人的安全。

耶路撒冷四所学校罢课，以色列强制推行课程并禁止教师授课（列表1/4）

美国拒绝以色列提出的将巴勒斯坦人从加沙迁走的建议（共4条，此为第2条）

联合国就以色列在西岸的行动提出“种族清洗”担忧，名单共4份，这是第3份。

（共4条） 西岸村民誓言重建家园，尽管遭遇毁灭性的大规模拆迁

“我们一直在传达并将继续传达的信息之一是，这些社区的人们有权生活在安全有保障的环境中，而政府有责任确保这一点得以实现，”哈克比周六告诉记者。

半岛电视台记者尼达·易卜拉欣从被占领的约旦河西岸图尔穆斯阿亚报道说，哈克比不仅会见了当地官员，“还与居住在图尔穆斯阿亚村的巴勒斯坦裔美国人会面，他们亲眼目睹了定居者大屠杀和暴力行为的影响，这是定居者在被占领的约旦河西岸不断升级的行动的一部分”。

“他们希望美国大使传达这样的信息：这是针对巴勒斯坦人的系统性暴力，这种暴力仍在继续，他们需要真正的改变，”易卜拉欣说，并指出该地区的定居者“不仅写下了反对巴勒斯坦人的标语，还写下了反对他（哈克比）的标语”。

哈克比遇到的其中一人是美籍巴勒斯坦人鲁万·阿尔卡姆，她四个月前和家人一起从美国德克萨斯州搬到了图尔穆斯阿亚。

但每当阿尔卡姆一家离开他们被占领的西岸家园时，“我们都会遇到一个又一个路障，一个又一个定居者”，她在与哈克比参加完晨会后不久告诉半岛电视台。

阿尔卡姆说，最近一次去纳布卢斯一日游时，以色列定居者用石头袭击了他们的汽车，导致他们无法回家。

“他们没有为自己的行为承担责任——危害巴勒斯坦人对他们来说是一种乐趣，”阿尔卡姆谈到定居者时说道，并称以色列人中发生的暴力事件“并非少数”。

阿尔卡姆说，哈克比“非常关注”图尔穆斯阿亚居民的经历，并补充说：“我们这里迫切需要关注。”

“严重后果”

事后，哈克比在接受记者采访时表示：“我们传递的信息很明确，犯罪就是犯罪，恐怖主义就是恐怖主义。人们一旦犯罪，就应该预料到会面临严重的后果。”

与此同时，以色列前大使阿隆·平卡斯告诉半岛电视台，哈克比访问西岸“很大程度上是象征性的……因为尽管媒体对此进行了报道，但他的访问并不会改变美国的政策”。

平卡斯说，哈克比将一些实施暴力的定居者称为“恐怖分子”，这是一个“明确的信息”，尤其出自一位“相信犹太人对西岸拥有权利”的福音派基督徒之口。

尽管如此，平卡斯表示，特朗普政府“似乎并不太关心”定居者遭屠杀或巴勒斯坦人的权利，以至于“实际上并没有向以色列政府施压”。

自以色列历史上最右翼的总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡的联合政府于 2022 年底上台以来，西岸的定居者大屠杀急剧增加。

尽管根据国际法这是非法的，但定居点数量仍在增加，以色列正在推进其在被占领的西岸建造 627 个定居点的计划，加深了其切断巴勒斯坦与耶路撒冷联系的努力。