Two Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank have been under siege by Israeli settlers since Sunday. The family claim their supplies are running low, and human rights organizations are calling on the authorities to intervene.
After fighting with a group of radical settlers, Israeli security personnel were said to have left the Jewish settler outpost in the hamlet of Qusra, close to Nablus, on Wednesday. There are reportedly still about a dozen inhabitants at the location.
The first troops to arrive to the location were shown on camera praying alongside the settlers following the Palestinian homeowners’ first report to the Israeli army.
Israeli Settlers Block Access to Palestinian Homes in Qusra
The families of Abu Ridi and Hassan have been pleading for assistance on social media since their food supplies ran out and their electricity and water sources were cut off.
The Security Council in New York was informed on Tuesday by a senior UN official that “the West Bank is at breaking point” in light of the most recent developments.
According to international law, all settlements are prohibited. Outposts are established without formal Israeli approval.
On Sunday nite, Palestinian security cameras saw settlers destroying a wall outside the Abu Ridi family’s house and blocking the road with the stones.
Seven individuals, including two small girls, were unable to leave their houses as a result, and other Palestinians were unable to get to them.
Israeli Forces Confront Settlers as Families Remain Trapped
In a Facebook post, Qusay Abu Ridi said that “especially as we are completely isolated” the situation was serious.
He stated: “We are living in our own home, on our own land, and we are asking for nothing more than the right to live safely and with dignity.”
Aysha Hassan told Reuters that the settlers “started throwing stones at us, cursing and insulting us” and “tried to break the gate” to the house.She described her family as “dying of fear, extremely terrified.”
Israeli settlers on Monday blocked Israeli journalists from the left-leaning Haaretz daily from entering the Palestinian houses.
The commander of the Israeli military’s Central Command was urged a day later by the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din to defend the besieged population, remove the settlers’ outpost, and punish the settlers accountable.
Finally, a Palestinian ambulance was permitted to arrive to the homes late on Tuesday. It brought food and took one kid away for medical care.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement denouncing the construction of the new outpost around the same time. It declared that it was “illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable activity” to invade and seize Palestinian houses.
Israeli Forces Confront Settlers at Qusra Outpost
Residents reportedly expressed their “grave concern” when Maj Gen Avi Bluth, the commander of its Central Command, and other senior officials arrived at the area early on Wednesday.
Following that, a sizable gathering of settlers and Israeli forces engaged in combat in Palestinian security camera footage provided to the BBC. Stun grenades and tear gas were deployed by the security personnel.
Since Sunday, settlers have barred access to the residences.
The canopy that the settlers were hiding under appears to have been seized by the Israeli soldiers in other footage, but their other belongings are still visible.The tent was evacuated by Border Police officers, who are now attempting to remove the citizens.
Rising Settler Violence in Qusra and Nearby Villages
It stated it was decided that “disciplinary action would be taken against the security personnel involved, who were documented at the site several days ago”.
Residents have observed “a clear and sustained pattern of targeting Qusra,” according to Palestinian town mayor Abdel Azim Wadi. A recently finished mosque was set on fire last month, and surrounding Hebrew-language graffiti was sprayed.
Following an incident in the Palestinian community of Tal, there were several Israeli attacks. Six individuals were killed—four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, one of whom served as a security coordinator for a neighboring Israeli settlement—after Israeli settlers assaulted Tal.
UN Warns of Rising Settler Violence in the West Bank
Israelis encircled a Palestinian residence in the hamlet of Jalud, next to Qusra, for almost two weeks in July. The land was then taken over by settlers after the owners departed, and they have remained there ever since.
In a report to the Security Council on Tuesday, Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stated that “settler violence has reached unprecedented levels.”
He underlined “the sobering human toll” and said that violence had recently been particularly severe in the Nablus Governorate.
The UN reports that Israeli troops or settlers have murdered 76 Palestinians in the West Bank this year, including 18 children. Three Israelis at the same time.
Israel Defends West Bank Settlements at UN.
Approximately 3,800 Palestinians were displaced in 2026 as a result of settler violence, demolitions, and evictions, with approximately half of them being minors.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, rejected the notion that settlements were a barrier to peace during his remarks at the UN summit. He said that because his nation had legal, historical, and biblical claims to the area, they would endure and keep expanding.
The Security Council “must understand a simple truth: we are not going anywhere,” he said.
