WASHINGTON: The US ambassador to Israel on Saturday called for “severe consequences” for those responsible for violence in the occupied West Bank, saying the Israeli government had a responsibility to ensure the safety of Palestinians.
Mike Huckabee made the remarks during a visit to the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, where he met Palestinian-Americans who have reported attacks by Israeli settlers.
“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,” Huckabee told reporters.
The ambassador said residents of Palestinian communities had the right to live in safety and that Israel bore responsibility for ensuring their security.
“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 that happens,” he said.
Huckabee, however, stopped short of directly criticizing Israel over the rise in settler violence.
Separately, the ambassador rejected suggestions that Israel planned to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, after Israeli ministers had floated ideas for moving the territory’s population elsewhere.
“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee said.
