Washington/Jerusalem, September 5, 2026: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday categorically denied that Israel or the United States was pursuing a plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, following public proposals by far-right Israeli ministers for the departure of the territory’s population.
“There is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters during a visit to Palestinian-American families in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
His comments came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir outlined a proposal calling for around 250,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza during the first year, followed by the departure of the remaining population over the subsequent six years.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had also said a day earlier that Israel was prepared to facilitate the removal of Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land, claiming that the United States was discussing possible destinations for those who wanted to leave. Katz also claimed, without providing evidence, that around 80 per cent of Gaza’s residents wanted to leave but were being prevented from doing so by Hamas.
Huckabee said the administration of US President Donald Trump supported giving Palestinians the option to leave Gaza voluntarily, arguing that people should have the right to choose whether to remain or depart.
“Nobody is suggesting there would be forced displacement — the Israelis are not, the Americans are not,” he said, describing it as a “disgrace” to keep Palestinians confined inside Gaza.
Forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime.
The issue has gained renewed attention after the Trump administration initially proposed relocating Palestinians from Gaza and transforming the devastated territory into a luxury development. The proposal triggered widespread international opposition, including from neighbouring Egypt, after which Trump softened his position.
Almost the entire population of Gaza has already been displaced internally during Israel’s military offensive launched after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The latest remarks came ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, with opinion polls indicating a closely contested race involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has brought far-right political figures into his governing coalition despite their long-standing calls for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
During his West Bank visit, Huckabee also said the Israeli government had a responsibility to protect Palestinian residents and called for severe consequences against those involved in settler violence.
The ambassador, a long-time supporter of Israel and Israeli settlers, visited the Palestinian-American community in Turmus Ayya, where families told him about repeated attacks allegedly carried out by settlers.
Huckabee said residents had a right to live with security and safety and that the government was responsible for ensuring their protection.
“Our clear message is that crime is crime, terror is terror,” he said, adding that those responsible should expect “severe consequences.”
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has persisted for years, while Palestinian officials and rights groups have repeatedly criticised what they describe as limited accountability for perpetrators.
Huckabee stopped short of directly criticising the Israeli government, but said continued settler violence was damaging Israel’s international reputation.
“Their reputation does not do well when it appears that this tiny little group of marauders are somehow representative of the larger population,” he said, adding that while only a few hundred people might be responsible, “that’s a few hundred too many.”
During his nearly two-hour meeting with residents, Huckabee heard accounts of attacks on Palestinian-American families and their property.
Samir Hazmeh, who hosted the ambassador, said settlers had twice smashed the windows of his house and had also attempted to force open its gates and set the property on fire. He said he had installed barbed wire and displayed an American flag in the hope of gaining greater protection.
Another resident, Yasser Alqam, said he owned land around 100 metres from his home but had been unable to return because of repeated settler attacks.
“The United States already has the ability to put pressure on Israel to at least arrest those settlers who are known to the authorities,” Alqam said, while expressing concern over President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions imposed by the previous administration on extremist Israeli settlers.
Alqam’s wife, Jinan, said she hoped Huckabee could help protect Palestinian residents so they could return to their land and harvest olives during the coming season.
Turmus Ayya mayor Nawwaf Zaghoul said residents had raised a number of concerns with the ambassador and hoped the United States would use its influence to improve their security.
Huckabee’s visit included a lunch with community members featuring maqluba, a traditional Palestinian rice and meat dish.
The ambassador has previously visited Taybeh, one of the few predominantly Christian villages remaining in the West Bank, after a church there was vandalised in 2025. At the time, he described the desecration of a place of worship as an act of terror and a crime.
Israel has accelerated approvals for new settlements in the West Bank under Netanyahu’s government. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory alongside around three million Palestinians. Israeli settlements in occupied territory are considered illegal under international law.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor and former governor of Arkansas, has long expressed strong support for Israel. He has also used the biblical terms “Judea and Samaria” when referring to the West Bank, although the terminology is not officially adopted by the US government.
Addressing settler violence, Huckabee invoked Christian scripture, saying: “Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt not even covet.”
He also previously intervened when settler extremists blocked basic supplies from reaching another Palestinian-American resident in the West Bank town of Qusra, an incident that prompted rare criticism of settlers from Netanyahu.
Huckabee’s positions on Israel and the occupied territories have previously drawn international criticism. In February, he was condemned by several countries, including Pakistan, after remarks interpreted as expressing openness to Israeli control over large areas of the Middle East.
