Inside the Ongoing Settler Siege on Palestinian Homes in Qusra

For almost a week, Israeli settlers, with the military standing by in full view, have besieged Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra in an attempt to force them from their land and take over their homes. The region has seen a significant rise in settler violence since the October 7, 2023 attacks, including deadly shootings, beatings, humiliating detentions, vandalism, and arson. Much of this violence goes unreported, but the Qusra case is an exception, prompting condemnation even from allies.

Qusra is located south of the major Palestinian city of Nablus. While settler violence affects all of the West Bank, villages around Nablus are a hotspot due to ideological settlements such as Shiloh, Eli, and Yitzhar. The village sits in Area B of the West Bank, where Israel is supposed to have military control and the Palestinian Authority civil control. Although settler violence mostly affects Area C, where Israel has full security and civil control, it is spreading to Area B and Area A, where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have control.

On Sunday, Israeli settlers set up an outpost near homes on the edges of the village, barring the families' exit and beginning a siege to push residents to leave. Since then, families have reported running low on food, water, and medicine. Israel’s military has started issuing statements about the siege, though no major movements have occurred on the ground. Soldiers have occasionally arrived in the area to confiscate material and claim to have dismantled outposts, but settlers have re-established the camps once the military withdrew. The military has also faced accusations of siding with the attacking settlers, with soldiers filmed praying with the group of young men besieging Qusra. While there are reports that the army is preparing for an operation, Palestinians and Israeli activists hold little hope that it will benefit the victims.

The Palestinian Authority called for international action to halt the violence, and Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa spoke to the mayor of Qusra on Friday. Israel’s government has not commented on the attacks. Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to hand over responsibility for civilian law enforcement to the Israeli police in the West Bank, a move critics say entrenches Israel’s de facto annexation of the territory. Far-left politician Ofer Cassif said forces stopped him from getting to Qusra on Friday, noting that besieged families were being denied essential supplies and medicine. A statement from his party, Hadash-Ta’al, said he later reached the families, adding, "This is exactly what apartheid looks like. This is exactly what occupation looks like."

The siege has prompted rare criticism from staunch Israel ally US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who called the perpetrators "Israeli terrorists" on Thursday. Mr. Huckabee later supported the wider settlement project, stating that settlers are "not the problem" in the West Bank, but rather a "very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families and to Israel." He also praised Yisrael Gantz, a settler leader who supports applying Israeli law in the West Bank. Reuters reported on Friday that the US wants Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn the siege.