U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee faced condemnation on Saturday for failing to address a brutal attack on an American news crew that took place earlier the same day.

A team of three NBC News correspondents was reporting in the occupied West Bank on Saturday near the Palestinian village of Jalud when a vehicle with Israeli license plates accelerated toward them, the outlet reported.

"They jumped out, beat us, then jumped back in the car," said NBC News correspondent Matt Bradley, who, according to the outlet, was "hit twice in the arm and later treated at a nearby clinic."

Aida Ahmed Abdullah, a Palestinian woman who was being interviewed by the NBC News crew, was also injured in the attack.

The incident fits a broader pattern documented in the West Bank, where Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and journalists has risen sharply since October 2023, according to United Nations monitoring. Press-freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, have repeatedly flagged the West Bank as one of the most dangerous assignments for reporters covering the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a vague statement on Saturday condemning the attacks, calling them "acts of violence" that harm "Israel's standing in the world," but made no mention that Americans were among those attacked (statement).

Responding to Netanyahu and other Israeli officials' remarks, Huckabee called them "strong statements," but likewise made no reference to the attack on Americans. He instead called on the Palestinian Authority to "join in condemning violence against Israel by Palestinians" (post).

Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor appointed by President Donald Trump, has been one of the most openly pro-Israel figures to hold the ambassadorial post, and his stance has drawn scrutiny from critics who argue it blurs the traditional role of a U.S. envoy, whose core responsibility includes advocating for American citizens abroad.

Huckabee's silence on an attack against Americans left several critics outraged.

"There is literally nothing in this statement to indicate that it's the U.S. ambassador to Israel talking about Israeli violence against Americans," wrote Jasper Nathaniel, a journalist known for his coverage of the West Bank and Israeli settler violence, in a post on X. "Reads entirely like a statement by an Israeli official" (post).

Journalist and NBC News contributor Hooman Majd suggested that Huckabee's allegiance appeared stronger to Israel than to the United States, and urged the Trump administration official to "protect American citizens."

"You're the American ambassador, not the spokesman for the Israeli government," Majd wrote on X. "Rather than congratulating the IDF and the Israeli FM, take a moment to protect American citizens trying to do their job" (post).

Foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi went further, suggesting that Israeli officials were confident in advance that Huckabee "wouldn't lift a finger" in defense of the victimized Americans.

"When you read about [the] members of an NBC News Team being beaten by Israeli settlers today in the West Bank, it's important to note two things: The [settlers] wouldn't do this to Americans had they not received a green light from the Israeli gov," Parsi wrote. "[And], Israel's gov would not have given such a green light unless it felt confident that the US gov — and Amb. Huckabee — wouldn't lift a finger to defend the Americans." (post)

https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/2093843919486288359

Huckabee has appeared to endorse the idea of "Greater Israel" in the past — a term referring to the territorial aspirations of some Israelis to significantly expand the nation's borders. Netanyahu, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, said as recently as last August that he "absolutely" subscribed to a "vision" for "Greater Israel."

Whether U.S. officials formally respond to the attack on the NBC News crew — and whether the State Department issues its own statement distinct from the ambassador's — remains to be seen.