Trump’s Ambassador to Israel Aligns U.S. With Illegal Settlers in Unprecedented West Bank Settlement Visit

Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited a settlement built over stolen land in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank this week. He met with the Yesha Council, which represents Israeli colonial settlers, who are illegal under international law. Israeli media described the visit as unprecedented.

It marked the first time a high-ranking American official held an official meeting inside an Israeli settlement beyond the 1967 borders. These settlements are considered illegal under international law.

During the visit, Huckabee praised the settlers. He cited a supposed biblical right to the land and claimed opponents of the settlements “do not support God.” His comments sharply departed from previous U.S. diplomatic norms.

According to The Times of Israel, Huckabee said President Donald Trump “loves this land” and hailed the settlers as they “sacrificed so much to live in these places.”

“you’ve paid in blood, sweat and tears”, he addressed the colonial settlers. He called the area a “miracle” and refused to refer to it as the West Bank. Instead, he used the zionist terms “Judea and Samaria,” saying any other term “denies the Bible.”

The Yesha Council said Huckabee also recited a Jewish prayer during the visit. He prayed for the release of Israeli prisoners and for the safety of Israeli soldiers, who have been carrying out genocide in Gaza for 19 months now.

During his visit, Huckabee also inspected five red heifers being raised at the site. The animals are linked to extremist religious efforts to build the so-called Third Jewish Temple on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

“Jewish presence represents life according to God’s laws,” Huckabee declared, framing the settlers as divine agents. “This is why many around the world want to kill you—because they want to kill God,” he said. Doubling down, Huckabee added, “Those who do not stand with you, do not stand with God,” aligning American political support with a religious narrative used to justify occupation and ethnic cleansing.

Trump’s former ambassador, David Friedman, also visited settlements during his term. But those trips were private. Huckabee’s visit is the first official U.S. diplomatic meeting held in an Israeli settlement, according to .

Rights groups condemned the visit. They warned it legitimizes land theft and deepens U.S. complicity in Israel’s occupation. Palestinians face daily home demolitions, arrests, and killings by Israeli forces—many operating from these same settlements.