A senior adviser to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee allegedly blocked, delayed or rewrote diplomatic reports on Israeli government actions to present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in a more favourable light, a New York Times investigation has found. The investigation identified David Milstein, who joined the US Embassy in Jerusalem in April 2025, as the official accused of intervening in reporting on Israeli settlement expansion, violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The newspaper said it interviewed 15 US officials who had worked with Milstein, nine former diplomats and reviewed dozens of internal cables, memos and other communications. Officials told the newspaper they were concerned that policymakers in Washington were not receiving a complete or accurate account of events on the ground.
One of the most significant cases concerned Israel's approval of a record number of settlements in the occupied West Bank in late March. Embassy staff drafted an urgent report for Washington after concluding that the move could conflict with President Donald Trump's stated opposition to annexation of the territory.
Three US officials briefed on the process told the newspaper that Milstein blocked the report from being sent. The alleged intervention raised questions about whether Washington was receiving timely assessments of Israeli policies that could affect US diplomatic objectives.
The investigation also detailed alleged interference in embassy reporting on violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. As attacks increased in the spring, embassy staff sought to report concerns that the Israeli government was failing to take adequate action.
Instead, according to three officials cited by the newspaper, a cable sent to Washington praised Israel for "cracking down" on the attacks. The newspaper reported that other assessments also presented Israeli efforts in a more favourable light than the original reporting prepared by embassy staff.
Another case concerned the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel halted aid deliveries in 2025. US diplomats drafted a cable warning of worsening conditions and concerns about the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which had been established as an alternative aid-distribution mechanism.
Milstein reportedly sent a separate cable that portrayed the foundation more favourably than the original assessment. The reported discrepancy raised concerns about whether Washington was being given an accurate account of the risks and shortcomings associated with aid distribution.
The investigation also alleged that Milstein suppressed a detailed embassy report concerning the killings of nine Palestinian Americans by Israeli settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank over four years. The report had been prepared after members of Congress sought information about the deaths.
According to officials familiar with the matter, embassy staff found that most investigations had made little progress, some had been closed, and no one had been prosecuted. Milstein reportedly argued that the embassy should instead send a letter stating that Israel was handling the investigations properly.