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Qusra besieged
Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli forces, surrounded a Palestinian home in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, with at least four Palestinians trapped inside while settlers set fire to nearby land on Saturday.
“Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli forces, have surrounded a Palestinian home in the village of Qusra”
Al Jazeera journalists on the ground reported that residents said dozens of settlers descended on the village, throwing stones at locals and barricading themselves inside a house while Palestinians were inside.
Qusra has faced an escalating campaign of Israeli settler violence over the past month, with settlers since August 9 besieging three Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area and cutting access to water, electricity and other essential supplies.
Residents described the siege as a “nightmare … 21 days, we can’t even sleep, we have to stay up at night [and] keep watching the security cameras, because those settlers can attack any time,” as Loui Abu Ridi told Al Jazeera.
In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said it had responded to reports of “violent clashes” involving “Israeli rioters” in Qusra, removing them from the home and confiscating their vehicles, while forces would remain “to prevent further disturbances and restore order.”
Condemnations and arrests
Al Jazeera reported that later, instead of removing the settlers, the Israeli army arrested the six Palestinians before releasing them a while later, after Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked six Palestinians in the village who were trying to install metal bars and window shields on their homes.
Palestinian journalist Sara Abu al-Rob told Al Jazeera that “the Israeli army is protecting the settlers, not the residents who are trying to reach their lands”.
In a rare rebuke, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X on Saturday: “I strongly condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Qusra and Jalud by a handful of rioters who are violating the law … and harming Israel’s standing in the world.”
In Jalud, a nearby village in Nablus, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone and restricted Palestinians from entering and leaving, placing a gate at the main entrance of Qusra itself.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemns the disgraceful and criminal violence carried out by extremists near Qusra during Shabbat,” adding that the actions “stand in complete contradiction to the values of the State of Israel.”
Escalation fears
Euronews said Israeli military sources warned of the possibility of pushing the West Bank toward further escalation, as settler attacks on Palestinians and their property were increasing.
“the approaching date of the legislative elections scheduled for October 27”
Euronews reported that Haaretz cited Israeli army officials who suspect there is a government tendency to escalate the situation in the West Bank, coinciding with a decline in the governing coalition’s popularity in polls and the approaching date of the legislative elections scheduled for October 27.
Euronews also said Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi worries about dragging his forces into new security complexities driven by political considerations, at a time when the army bears burdens due to its deployment on more than one front.
Al Jazeera Net reported that Haaretz said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump appears reluctant to intervene forcefully, with the paper noting that the clear American stance in recent days has been limited to statements by the American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
Al Jazeera Net quoted Friedman saying that “half a million Israelis live in peace in the West Bank and feel intense disgust toward a small group of troublemakers whom they call settlers,” while also saying there is “a broad consensus on condemning violence in the West Bank.”