U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced a group of Israeli settlers who laid siege to a Palestinian home in the West Bank, describing them as “terrorists.”

Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian Christian activist, called attention to a mob of Israeli settlers laying siege to the house in the West Bank village of Qusra, which is owned by an American citizen. After first criticizing Huckabee and the U.S. Embassy for a seeming lack of interest, Hassan then described the White House as having “intervened” in the case. Huckabee rejected both charges as a “lie.” In clarifying the U.S. position on the matter, the outspoken pro-Israel ambassador made one of his most stringent condemnations of Israeli settler activity.