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Qusra siege and isolation
Israeli settlers besieged three Palestinian families inside their homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, cutting off water and electricity in a campaign residents described as an attempt to steal their land.
“Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian families inside their homes”
Security camera footage from Qusra, south of Nablus, showed Israeli settlers surrounding one of the houses, while residents said Israeli soldiers failed to disperse the settlers despite intervening earlier in the day.
Aisha Abu Rida, one of the residents under siege, told Al Jazeera that the siege began on Sunday with settlers blocking all entrances to her home, and she said, “We are surrounded by settlers, but we are steadfast, God willing.”
In a separate account, Loai Ridi, an American-Palestinian who owns a house in the village, told Al Jazeera from Toledo, in the United States, that his brother Qusai Abu Rida and 18-year-old nephew Ahmed were among those trapped and that he had “supplies for two to three days left.”
US pressure and IDF response
The White House told Israel it was not doing enough to prevent violent settler attacks in the West Bank, with KAN News reporting a senior White House official planned to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister's Office.
In Qusra, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir held a situational assessment on Wednesday with Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth, Operations Directorate chief Maj.-Gen. Itzik Cohen, and Operations Division chief Brig.-Gen. Barak Hiram, and the IDF said it would order an additional active-duty infantry battalion to reinforce the sector.
The IDF said the operation was being carried out in coordination with the Israel Police and the Shin Bet, with the aim of “restoring order, maintaining security in the area, and bringing the rioters to justice.”
Yesh Din said in an appeal sent to Bluth on Tuesday that settlers had imposed a siege on two homes in Qusra and that seven Palestinians, including two girls aged 10 and four, had been trapped in their homes for three days, with settlers cutting off electricity and water supplies.
Escalation fears and UN warning
Israeli security sources warned that the West Bank has become like a “powder keg” that could explode at any moment, with Haaretz quoting a senior security source saying, “the entire West Bank stands on a barrel of gunpowder that could explode at any moment.”
““the entire West Bank stands on a powder keg that could explode at any moment.”
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the same Haaretz account described a “paralysis” within the leadership that officers fear would be interpreted as politically motivated, and it said “many officers slated for promotion prefer to avoid taking firm action against the settlers.”
UN News said the Security Council held an open debate on Tuesday expected to address escalating Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and it quoted UN chief António Guterres warning that Israel’s settlements are a “flagrant violation” of international law.
UN News also said that according to UN relief agency OCHA reports, 76 Palestinians were killed this year in the occupied West Bank, including 18 children, and that the situation was at an “all-time high” as new settlements are approved while settlers and Israeli security forces “often” acted together to attack local Palestinian communities.
