4 hours ago
3
At least four people are trapped inside their home, as an earlier siege on Palestinian families has continued for three weeks.
Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli forces, have surrounded a Palestinian home in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
At least four Palestinians were trapped inside the home on Saturday while settlers set fire to nearby land, according to Al Jazeera journalists. Coordination is under way to allow ambulances to reach the area and evacuate one injured person.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Gaza forced to use unreliable online payments amid ‘cash famine’
- list 2 of 4Board of Peace envoy Mladenov warns Gaza ceasefire risks ‘collapse’
- list 3 of 4Israeli strike kills three Palestinians in West Bank’s Jenin
- list 4 of 4Iran’s leaders acknowledge economic toll of war, pledge diplomacy, defence
Qusra has faced an escalating campaign of Israeli settler violence over the past month.
Since August 9, settlers have besieged three Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area, trapping families inside and cutting access to water, electricity and other essential supplies. Settlers also set fire to a mosque in the village in July.
“We’re not safe here. We fear for our own safety. Settlers are still moving freely around the house and attack the residents of the nearby houses too,” Loui Abu Ridi, one resident who has been trapped inside his home for weeks, told Al Jazeera. “We’re trying to get more basic supplies, and we have elderly and children.”
Palestinian journalist Sara Abu al-Rob, reporting from Ramallah on Saturday, told Al Jazeera that Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked six Palestinians in the village who were trying to install metal bars and window shields on their homes to protect their families, adding that “Israeli settlers keep throwing stones and flaming material onto the houses there.”
She said one of those besieged, Loai al-Bairoty, was injured earlier in the day, and that residents told her “the Israeli army is protecting the settlers, not the residents who are trying to reach their lands”.
Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces at the scene had instead attempted to arrest the besieged Palestinians themselves.
Israeli forces have declared the area a closed military zone and restricted Palestinians from entering and leaving, placing a gate at the main entrance of Qusra itself. Palestinians travelling into the village are forced to take alternative routes, which are often blocked by Israeli forces.
Abu Ridi told Al Jazeera the feeling of being trapped is “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”.
He said residents have to coordinate with the mayor of Qusra to get food and supplies, and it can take three to four days to get approval. “We’re not allowed to live freely in and out of our houses,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military erected three new roadblocks at locations that encircled the top of the Ras al-Ain hill, disconnecting homes from the area below.
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.
It said forces would remain in the area “to prevent further disturbances and restore order”.
Settler attacks – supported or overlooked by the Israeli military – on Palestinian homes, businesses and farmland across the West Bank have been common for decades as illegal settlements have expanded across the territory.
The attacks have increased in intensity and frequency since Israel launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
