In the West Bank village of Qusra near Nablus, Israeli settlers have surrounded the homes of two Palestinian families since Sunday, cutting off essential supplies such as water, electricity and food. The Abu Ridi and Hassan families, who have posted on social media, describe a situation “critical” and say they live in complete isolation.
Israeli soldiers arrived after the families reported the blockade, but footage shows the troops praying beside the settlers before taking action. The IDF later used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a crowd of about a dozen settlers still occupying the site.
The siege is part of a broader pattern of settler aggression in the West Bank. In July, settlers surrounded a Palestinian home in the neighbouring village of Jalud for weeks without permission, taking over the property. In Tal, a settler attack led to an escalation that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, and it sparked a further wave of violence.
The United Nations’ Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process warned the Security Council that the West Bank is at a breaking point, citing 76 Palestinian deaths—including 18 children—by Israeli forces or settlers this year. The Israeli Ambassador at the UN dismissed settlement expansion as a barrier to peace, asserting that Israeli claims to the land are biblical, historic and legal.
A Palestinian citizen, Abdel Azim Wadi, recorded how settlers in Qusra had consistently targeted the village, from vandalising a mosque last month to blocking access to residents’ homes. Human rights advocates have urged the Israeli military to protect the families and dismantle the illegal outpost while holding settlers accountable. Late Tuesday, a Palestinian ambulance finally reached the besieged households, delivering food and transporting a child for medical treatment.
The situation in Qusra underscores the urgent need for decisive intervention to ensure basic rights for displaced Palestinians and to curb the escalating cycle of violence in the West Bank.
