US ambassador meets Palestinian official on first Ramallah visit

Mike Huckabee discusses ceasefire, hostage release, Gaza aid delivery and West Bank settler violence

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visits the Church of St George in the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) vice president Hussein Al Sheikh has met US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in the occupied West Bank.

The meeting took place during Mr Huckabee's first official visit to the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and comes amid mounting international pressure on Israel.

“Discussions were held regarding support for efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip, release the hostages and deliver urgent aid to the Palestinian people there,” Mr Al Sheikh wrote on X.

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“The current situation in the West Bank was also discussed, including the severe economic and financial crisis and settler violence,” he said, adding that the “American role” in achieving peace in the region was among the topics.

Mr Al Sheikh was appointed vice president in April in a newly-created role which has been seen by some as a way for President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint a successor and delegate some of his responsibilities.

Mr Al Sheikh is also vice president of the PLO, which was founded in 1964 to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people.

Relations between the US and the Palestinian Authority were strained during US President Donald Trump's first term in the White House, during which he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognised it as Israel's capital, breaking with international consensus.

Last Saturday, Mr Huckabee visited Taybeh, a Christian village in the occupied West Bank, where he called for justice after an attack on a church blamed by locals on Israeli settlers.

The ambassador is a leading figure on the conservative Christian right in the US and is close to pro-settlement groups.

Despite increasing international condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, Mr Huckabee has remained firm in his stance.

He labelled a 25-country statement, including UK and France, condemning Israel's “drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” as “disgusting” and said Western allies should instead pressure the “savages of Hamas”.

Nevertheless, Mr Huckabee urged Israel to “aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Musallat”, a Palestinian-American beaten to death by Israeli settlers, calling it “a criminal and terrorist act”.