UN and Palestinian ministry condemn settler siege in West Bank

The United Nations human rights agency and the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates have condemned a days-long siege of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra. Three families, comprising 15 people, have been confined to their homes with water and power cut off since Sunday. The UN warned that the actions aim to force displacement, while the Palestinian ministry accused Israel of using settlers as a tool for annexation. Israeli troops dismantled two illegal outposts and detained one Israeli, but locals and residents claim the military is complicit and ineffective in protecting the besieged families.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights described the actions as criminal and aimed at forcing families from their land, warning that time was running out for the trapped residents. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of using settlers as an unchecked tool to implement policies of forced displacement and annexation. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also characterised the settlers’ conduct as acts of terror.

On the ground, Al Jazeera reporter Nida Ibrahim noted that Israeli soldiers initially attempted to move the trapped families out of their homes, but the residents refused due to distrust that the military would allow them to return. The families were subsequently grouped together in one home. Residents have previously witnessed settlers push families out and take over their properties, fueling local scepticism regarding the efficacy of the military response.

While the Israeli military stated that troops dismantled two illegal outposts in Qusra and a nearby village and detained one Israeli national, local accounts suggest a different reality. Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi claimed that Israeli soldiers were seen praying, barbecuing, and dancing with settlers, suggesting complicity rather than protection. Qusra resident Abdul Kareem Hassan, who has slept in his car for seven months to protect his home, described the military response as a charade, arguing that the operation could be concluded in less than an hour if treated with the same severity as operations against Palestinians.

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, violence and displacement measures continued. Israeli forces issued demolition notices in Kafr Sur, Jalazone camp, and al-Jiftlik. In Qalqilya, soldiers detained seven relatives of a Palestinian fighter, while three Palestinians, including a child, were pepper-sprayed in their car. Settlers also re-established a settlement near Jenin and erected a new outpost near Tulkarem.