Israeli settlers besiege three Qusra families in West Bank for over a week
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Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian families in their homes in Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, for more than a week, cutting them off from basic supplies and emergency services. On August 13, Israeli forces ordered the families to evacuate and converted 16 homes in the town into military barracks, with soldiers entering Qusra the same day. The United Nations, France, Spain and the United Kingdom issued condemnations, and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the besieging settlers “Israeli terrorists”.
Key Facts
- Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas called the siege part of an “accelerating and well-documented pattern of coordinated and strategic settler terror” enabled, backed and funded by the State of Israel.
- For a second week, 15 Palestinians, including two children, remain trapped in their homes in Qusra.
- On August 16, settlers in Beit Imrin, north of Nablus, besieged a home for more than three hours, blocking residents and ambulances.
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare a plan for transferring responsibility for civilian law enforcement to the Israeli police.
- UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called Qusra the “climax” of Israel’s decades-long rule of impunity.
The Qusra Siege
Israeli settlers have besieged three Palestinian families in their homes in Qusra, south of Nablus, for more than a week, cutting them off from basic supplies and emergency services. One of the besieged homes belongs to a Palestinian-American, which brought the siege to front-page attention. On August 13, Israeli forces ordered the families to evacuate, saying the homes would be seized “to protect” them, and converted 16 homes in the town into military barracks. Soldiers spent two days dismantling the settlers’ tent, then erected their own in the same spot, while municipal crews restored electricity and water but the families say they were told they cannot leave. For a second week, 15 Palestinians, including two children, remain trapped in their homes.
International Reaction
The United Nations, France, Spain and the United Kingdom — four international actors — issued condemnations, and the White House was reported to be pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly denounce settler violence. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a staunch settlement supporter, broke publicly with the Israeli government to call the besieging settlers “Israeli terrorists”. Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas called the siege part of an accelerating and well-documented pattern of coordinated and strategic settler terror, enabled, backed and funded by the State of Israel. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called Qusra the “climax” of Israel’s decades-long rule of impunity, saying Israeli officials appear to be collaborating with settlers rather than restraining them.
Expansion of Settler Attacks
On August 16, settlers in Beit Imrin, north of Nablus, besieged a home for more than three hours. The village is nominally under full Palestinian civil and security control, and settlers blocked residents and ambulances from reaching those inside. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare a plan for transferring responsibility for civilian law enforcement to the Israeli police. Critics questioned the transfer as impractical and warned it could further advance Israel’s de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank.
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Israeli settlers besiege three Qusra families in West Bank for over a week
