The United States was reportedly fuming over the Israeli government’s failure to crack down on rampant settler violence in the West Bank, Israeli television reported Wednesday.
There was particular shock in US President Donald Trump’s administration over the ongoing incident in the Palestinian village of Qusra, where settlers have besieged a pair of homes on the outskirts of the northern West Bank town, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
While the military has issued statements condemning the incident, Israeli law enforcement has not removed the settlers from the area and the Palestinian families have been stuck in their homes since Sunday.
One of the homes belongs to an Ohio-based American citizen who has watched in horror through security cameras that have captured soldiers fraternizing with the settlers blockading his relatives.
The siege in Qusra was discussed Wednesday by White House officials who have come to the conclusion that Israel is not taking the issue seriously, Kan reported.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
A senior White House official was reportedly slated to hold a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand answers on why Jerusalem has refused to act against the settlers in Qusra.
A Palestinian child inspects burned-out cars following an attack by extremist Israeli settlers on Palestinian homes in the village of Jalud, south of Nablus in the West Bank, August 4, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
According to the Ynet news site, serious questions have been raised into why Israel was allowing “anarchy” in the West Bank.
Netanyahu’s government has funneled millions of dollars into the illegal outposts, where many of the perpetrators of attacks on Palestinians live.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is in charge of the Defense Ministry’s settlement policy, has said the goal of the next Israeli government will be to push Palestinians to flee the area.
The White House and the US State Department did not respond to repeated requests for comments.
Settlers attempt to prevnet the evacuation of an outpost established at the entrance to Palestinian homes near Qusra in the West Bank, August 12, 2026 (Video screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The reports on Wednesday came as the IDF announced that an infantry battalion would be dispatched to the West Bank to bolster the troops attempting to deal with provocations and attacks by settlers.
Despite the reported frustration behind closed doors, the US has refrained from publicly calling out Israel over the latest wave of settler violence. The Trump administration has adopted a vastly different stance than former US president Joe Biden, who sanctioned violent settlers and regularly called out Israel for not addressing the phenomenon.
Trump canceled Biden’s sanctions regime on his first day in office and has yet to weigh in on the issue personally.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has periodically condemned the violence, calling the perpetrators terrorists, but Palestinian Americans say his embassy has largely ignored their pleas for greater assistance.
An ordained paster and a longtime backer of the settlement movement, Huckabee visited Christian-majority Taybeh in the West Bank after it came under repeated settler attacks, most of which targeted Bedouin hamlets on the outskirts of the village.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, left, is escorted by Father Jack-Noble Abed, priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, during a tour in the archeological site of the Church of St. George, the site of a recent Israeli settlers attacks, during his visit to the West Bank town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Settlers were filmed attempting to raid one of those hamlets on Wednesday night.
The IDF has issued a closed military zone order that is supposed to bar Israelis from reaching the Taybeh area, though activists said the army was not enforcing the order and instead cooperating with the settlers.
Footage from Wednesday showed the settlers attempting to destroy the fence surrounding the hamlet.
No arrests were reported and the IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
مستوطنون يهاجمون مساكن “أبو فزاع” البدوية شرق قرية الطيبة شرقي رام الله وسط محاولات لاقتحامها وتصدي واسع من الفلسطينيين pic.twitter.com/Yf5jedmdbY
— العربية (@AlArabiya) August 12, 2026
‘Psychological and physical violence’
Also Wednesday, Germany’s former ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, leveled unusually sharp criticism at the Israeli government and what he labeled its “disastrous” settlement policy in the West Bank.
Israel’s policy in the West Bank amounts to “displacement through psychological and physical violence,” he was quoted as saying by news weekly Die Zeit.
Seibert — generally a staunch supporter of the Jewish state who ended his posting a month ago — stressed that “if the very existence of Israel is threatened by a murderous attack by Hamas, by the no less murderous plans of Hezbollah, or by Iran, then we must stand by this state.”
“But that does not apply to the settlers in the Jordan Valley,” he told Zeit in an interview. “Under international law, these are illegal settlements driven by the ideology that this land belongs solely to us — that God gave it to us.”
“The concept of ‘reason of state’ does not extend to that; it does not support a sense of superiority over another population,” he added.
German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert speaks during a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
It was equally necessary, he continued, to tell the Palestinians that the right of the Israeli people to live in their own state must be respected.
“We need to make it clear what we mean when we — rightly — say that we stand by Israel,” said Seibert. But “that does not mean our support extends to every action taken by the Israeli state — for instance, the occupation, which is now entering its 60th year.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re a dedicated reader
That’s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel