US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Saturday that there was no Israeli or US plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, while calling on Israel to ensure the safety of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Speaking to reporters in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, Huckabee said he could “categorically” confirm that Israel had no plan to displace Gaza's population against its will. He added that Palestinians who wished to leave should have the right to do so, but said forcing people to remain somewhere against their wishes would be “a disgrace”.

“Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement. The Israelis are not. The Americans are certainly not,” Huckabee said.

His comments came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said this week that there was “no real solution for Gaza” without what he called “this migration”. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has also proposed a seven-year plan for what he describes as the “voluntary emigration” of Gaza's population.

The US State Department said on Friday that Washington did not support any plan involving the forced displacement, expulsion or mandatory transfer of Gaza's population, reiterating that any movement must be voluntary.

During his visit to Turmus Ayya, Huckabee also met Palestinian Americans, including relatives of US citizens killed by Israeli settlers. The town, near Ramallah, has a large Palestinian-American population; its mayor said about 80% of its roughly 3,000 residents hold US citizenship.

Huckabee said Israel had a responsibility to protect Palestinian residents and called on authorities to act against what he described as criminal behaviour and terrorism by violent settlers.

“Crime is crime, terror is terror,” he said, adding that those responsible should expect “severe consequences”.

Huckabee has previously described violent settlers as terrorists, while maintaining that they represent a small minority of the wider settler population. A Palestinian-American municipal spokesperson, Yasser Alkam, disputed that assessment, saying the number involved in attacks was in the thousands rather than hundreds.

The ambassador's visit came amid continuing settler violence across the West Bank and growing criticism of the Israeli government's response. Reuters reported that perpetrators of settler attacks are rarely arrested and even less frequently prosecuted.