US Ambassador to Israel says West Bank siege is "terror"

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank meets the definition of "terror," as he outlined the embassy's responsibility to protect American citizens.

"When you engage in activity that is intended to change the behavior and to create fear in an individual, an entire society, or a community, that is the definition, the historic dictionary definition of terror. So I don't know what else to call it," Huckabee said in an interview with Israel's Channel 11.

The comments came as Palestinian American Loui Ridi returned to his home in the West Bank village of Qusra on Monday, where he said Israeli settlers had besieged the property for more than a week.

Ridi confronted the settlers Tuesday and demanded that Israeli forces remove them, but soldiers ordered him back inside, saying the area had been declared a closed military zone.

The soldiers also ordered the settlers to leave, though Ridi said at least three remained close enough to return and threaten his family once the troops left.

"When it happens to an American citizen, as it did recently, then it is our responsibility as an American embassy to engage and to be as strong as we can be in saying 'this is unacceptable behavior'," Huckabee said.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, has condemned the siege in Qusra, now in its 10th day.

President Donald Trump has said he opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank but signalled broad acceptance of settlements, and at the start of his second term lifted sanctions on settlers accused of violence.

About 2.8 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the West Bank, alongside roughly 560,000 Israeli settlers.