US condemns attack on West Bank church as 'an act of terror'

Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's remarks constitute rare intervention by Washington in settler debate

Mike Huckabee, centre, and Suleiman Khourieh, left, the Palestinian mayor of the village of Taybeh, tour the Church of St George in Taybeh, the West Bank. AFP

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the occupied West Bank to be prosecuted, calling it "an act of terror".

Mr Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers started a fire near a cemetery and the fifth-century Church of St George on July 8.

"It is an act of terror and it is a crime," Mr Huckabee said. "Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – [should] be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that’s not enough."

Israel's government has not commented on the incident but has previously denounced such acts. Mr Huckabee said he had asked Israel to "aggressively investigate" the killing of a Palestinian-American beaten by settlers in the West Bank, describing it also as a "criminal and terrorist act".

The ambassador is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

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Mr Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the occupied territory have risen since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023, though hostility has long simmered there.

The UN's highest court said last year that Israel's settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, are illegal. Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security needs.