Israeli troops took up positions inside Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday, according to the town’s mayor, as a standoff involving Jewish settlers entered its fifth night. Dozens of settlers had surrounded three Palestinian homes on the outskirts of the town beginning Sunday, closing off roads, erecting tents in front yards, and cutting off water and electricity supplies.
Israeli Troops Deploy to West Bank Village as Settler Siege Enters Fifth Day
The United Nations reported that approximately 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped inside their homes with severely depleted food, water, and power supplies. Qusai Abu Rida, holed up with his teenage son, was left to drink well water after the utilities were severed, while his Palestinian-American brother watched the siege unfold on security cameras from Ohio.
The unfolding crisis prompted an exceptionally sharp rebuke from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to AP News. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee referred to the individuals involved as terrorists
and denounced the actions as thuggish behaviour,
stating that the Israeli intervention occurred at the request of the United States. Huckabee’s remarks marked a striking shift for the ambassador, a long-time staunch supporter of settlers in the West Bank.
Military Actions and Shifting Positions on the Ground
The Israeli military declared Qusra a closed military zone on Tuesday, condemning the siege as illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable. Overnight into Thursday, military forces dismantled settler outposts and detained one Israeli, with the army stating that additional troops were deployed to carry out defensive missions and patrols. The military also announced it was taking disciplinary action against personnel involved after video footage from the weekend appeared to show troops praying alongside the settlers.
Village residents and officials reported conflicting details regarding troop movements within the village. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi stated that Israeli forces initially evacuated more than a dozen homes to take up positions, later withdrawing from eight of those houses on Thursday morning while informing residents that military operations in the area may last until Sunday. Abu Rida noted that soldiers instructed occupants to evacuate temporarily and move into one of the besieged houses, though families had not yet returned amid ongoing concerns over basic supplies.
The military maintained in a statement that soldiers deployed to Qusra were instructed that local residents would remain in their homes, and that troops would not operate inside the specific Palestinian family homes near where the dismantled tents had been erected.
Broader Context of West Bank Violence and Settlements
The standoff in Qusra forms part of a wider surge in settler violence across the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war that is home to some three million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers.
Rights groups have long accused Israeli forces of turning a blind eye to settler land seizures or offering inadequate protection to Palestinians.
The mounting pressure from Washington poses a challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he attempts to maintain relations with his country’s closest ally while appealing to ultranationalist voters ahead of a reelection battle in October. Concurrently, the military’s crackdown on the Qusra siege coincided with Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, celebrating the reopening of the northern West Bank settlement at Ganim, which had been dismantled more than two decades prior.
