AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Huckabee, during a visit to Turmus'ayya in the West Bank, met with Palestinian Americans who had spoken about settler attacks against themselves and their families. He emphasized the necessity of ensuring Palestinian security and said those who commit violence should expect "severe consequences." This position, on the surface, defends a clear principle: attacks on civilians and the creation of terror should not go unanswered.
But these same words pose a serious question for Washington: if a crime is a crime and terrorism is terrorism, why should this standard not be applied to the victims of US military operations? Just a few months ago, a US attack on a school in Minab, according to published reports, killed 186 people, most of them children.
The US Secretary of Defense, after increasing evidence regarding US forces' responsibility, announced the launch of a comprehensive investigation into this incident, an action interpreted as an admission of the seriousness of US responsibility in this tragedy, yet six months after this crime, there is still no official report released.
The Kuhistak wedding incident is also a more recent example. During US attacks on southern Iran, a residential building where a wedding was taking place was targeted, resulting in at least four deaths and dozens of injuries.
US officials investigated the incident during their operations, and US Vice President JD Vance also officially announced that Washington is investigating this attack. Meanwhile, weapons experts and field evidence have confirmed the direct impact of US ordnance on the wedding venue, and it is the US that is, as always, in a position of justification.
In Lamerd, although CENTCOM has denied responsibility for the attack on the sports hall, independent investigations and weapons experts' analyses have provided evidence that makes the use of an American missile in this attack certain.
The main issue here is not merely the words of an ambassador, but the dual standard in defining violence and terrorism. If an attack by a settler on a Palestinian warrants "severe consequences," then the killing of a child in a school or the deaths of women and children in a wedding ceremony should also be measured by the same ethical and legal standard. One cannot value victims based on nationality and geography.
Huckabee's words gain moral credibility only when the same sensitivity to civilian life is seen in US policy and military operations.
The US ambassador's voice has spoken out against settler violence, but the question of public opinion is: whose voice should be raised for the victims of American bombs? If "crime is a crime," this principle should not apply only in the West Bank, but should be the same in the school, the sports hall, the residential home, and even the wedding ceremony.
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