Ambassador Huckabee Condemns Settler Attack

U.S. Ambassador Mike HuckabeeMike HuckabeeGovernor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 condemned an attack by masked Israeli settlers on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi LevineHeidi LevineAmerican photojournalist and Palestinian olive harvesters near Abu Falah. A day later, masked settlers attacked a European delegation visiting Palestinian olive growers in Taybeh, assaulting French mayor Bernard Baudoux and damaging a Belgian diplomatic vehicle. The attacks came during the annual Palestinian olive harvest, amid a wider rise in settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Huckabee called the attack a “despicable act of terror,” and Secretary of State Marco RubioMarco Rubio72nd United States Secretary of State since 2025 said Washington was pressing Israel to act. Israeli authorities said police opened an investigation. No arrests were reported.