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Qusra siege and U.S. pressure
Settlers besieged three Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, near Nablus, cutting off water and electricity and keeping the families inside since Sunday, according to Kan and Al Jazeera.
“trapped inside their homes in a state of terror, unable to attend to their basic needs and without access to water or electricity”
The Al Jazeera report said the siege confined “15 people, including two children,” and described the families as “trapped inside their homes in a state of terror, unable to attend to their basic needs and without access to water or electricity.”
A U.S. official and an Israeli official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Washington wants Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn the settlers’ actions after learning that one of the targeted homes belonged to a Palestinian American.
The Al Jazeera report also said the U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the siege as “Israeli terrorists,” writing on X that “Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting.”
Israeli responses and competing narratives
Israeli media and Al Jazeera described Israeli forces trying to manage the siege by removing settlers with limited success, while Palestinians said they expected the settlers to return even if removed temporarily.
Al Jazeera quoted Qusra mayor Abdel Azim Wadi saying, “We saw them praying together, barbecuing together and dancing together,” and adding, “They are not very interested in helping the besieged families.”
In a separate Reuters account, a Palestinian woman in one of the besieged homes, Aysha Hassan, told Reuters by phone, “There is nothing new. It's been like this for six days...the settlers are still here.”
The Reuters report also said the Israeli military stated, “Israeli civilians erected a tent in the Qusra area, and IDF soldiers operated to remove it while protecting the local residents,” after settlers pitched a new tent before soldiers arrived.
What’s at stake next
The siege drew broader political consequences as the White House pushed Netanyahu to condemn settler violence, with Reuters reporting that Washington’s concern escalated after learning that a Palestinian American home was among those targeted.
“Time is running out for these three families before they are forcibly displaced”
Al Jazeera reported that the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights warned, “Time is running out for these three families before they are forcibly displaced,” as the families’ water and power remained cut off.
Al Jazeera also said the Israeli government’s spokesperson David Mercer called the settlers’ actions “deplorable” and “unacceptable,” while promising an investigation and arrest of those responsible.
Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas said the siege reflected “a rapidly accelerating, well-documented pattern of coordinated, strategic settler terrorism” and argued that “Israel, as the occupying power, is legally obligated to protect the Palestinian population under its control.”
