Huckabee Aide Accused of Blocking West Bank Reports

David Milstein, a senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, is accused of blocking or changing embassy reports on Israeli actions in the West Bank, including settlement expansion and investigations into the deaths of American citizens. Huckabee has categorically rejected the allegations, which are based largely on accounts from officials and people familiar with the work who spoke anonymously. According to U.S. officials familiar with the process, embassy staff prepared an urgent assessment after Israel approved a major settlement expansion in the West Bank in late March. The report, which officials said raised concern that the move could conflict with President Donald Trump’s opposition to annexation, did not reach Washington because Milstein prevented it from being sent, the officials said. The allegations also concern embassy reporting on nine Americans killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers or security forces. Officials said an assessment completed in March found little progress in most investigations, with some cases closed and no charges filed.